2019 Betterments

I just spent a little time going over my 2018 Betterments to have an idea of what I had planned to work on a year ago, compared to what I want to work on this year. It's funny, I go around thinking that things don't change all that much from year to year, but they definitely do. Last year I was committed to spending less money, working out more, bike commuting, selling the camper van, starting a low-carb diet, drinking less coffee, starting my own IVs at the hospital, and writing more in my gratitude journal. Well...I accomplished some of those things.

Simon and I did manage to sell the van, which was a one-and-done kind of Betterment, so that one was actually the easiest of the lot. Spending less money...ha...that's laughable. We bought a house this year and had all the regular expenses that go with it, along with my desire to furnish the place and make it feel like "our" space. While I wasn't as good about my spending as I should have been, I still managed to take my savings account from basically nothing following the down payment on the house, to close to half the amount that I put towards the down payment in the first place by the end of the year. I'm relatively pleased with that, but not patting myself on the back too much knowing that I could have been a lot better. Since we live 11 miles from work now, the bike commuting didn't pan out. I even bought an electric bike with the intention of commuting on it, and I hated it so much that I'm currently trying to sell that beastly thing. It's not the bike's fault...it's actually a really nice bike, it's just not for me. I did manage to work out more. I spend a lot more time at the gym than I used to, I started a personal training program, and I started going to yoga pretty regularly, so I think overall I succeeded in that Betterment. My last gratitude journal entry was from August 18, so that should tell you something about how well I did at that. I do drink a lot less coffee, and I think overall that's been a really nice change for me. I view coffee as a treat now, and save getting a warm, toasty mug of something sweet and spiced with nutmeg for those moments when I'm doing something nice for myself. I've also been better at starting IVs on my patients, and I'd have to say that I start more than I don't, so I'm getting better in that regard.

So there's that. Bring it on, 2019!

1. Focus on healthy eating. 2018 was the year of trying all sorts of different kinds of diets. I tried Keto, I tried Paleo, I tried Intermittent Fasting, I tried Vegetarian, I tried a friend's Slim Genics plan. Every single one was a fail, and some of them started to make me rather food-obsessed, which was a dark and unhealthy place I lived in during my senior year of high school. I don't want food to be my focus, but rather to focus on being healthy overall with food as a supporting player. Rather than committing to any sort of diet/eating lifestyle, I'm going to try to be more aware of all the foodstuffs I'm shoving into my mouth. And maybe do less shoving. I've always been a really fast eater, and therefore I think my biggest struggle is portion control. I remember in my 20's I used to eat until I was physically sick. I had a very unhealthy relationship with food, always thinking in the back of my mind when something really good was placed in front of me that I might not get it again for a long time, so I might as well dig in. As if that's a valid excuse to have three portions. Fast forward twenty years and throw in a declining metabolism, which just happens as we age, and you've got a recipe for disaster if you can't control what's going in your mouth. Over the years I've been better about portion control, but I could still use some work. I'm trying to focus on more whole-food eating, meaning I'm trying really hard to keep processed foods to a minimum. I'm trying to limit the amount of sugar that I have in my diet, although I still treat myself with the occasional chai latte, a Brussels cookie (sooo good!) or a piece of chocolate. I don't binge on sweets the way I used to binge on the salty stuff, which is a good thing. I can have one cookie or a couple pieces of chocolate and call it good. Chips, on the other hand, that's a different story. I've pretty much quit buying chips all together. We have a bag or two of tortilla chips in the house at any given time, but my beloved jalapeno Kettle Brand chips are nary to be found these days. It's a good thing. Every now and then I'll have a slip up and buy a bag and eat it all in one sitting and be sick for the next 24 hours, lamenting why I do things like that. Sometimes we just need reinforcement, right? So yeah, Simon and I have been trying to make most of our meals at home. I've been really getting into meal prep so that I always have some healthy options available in the fridge. I bought an Instant Pot and I love that thing...I probably use it at least once a week. I bought some new cook books, my favorites being the Run Fast/Eat Slow series from Shalane Flanagan, who used to be a local professional runner here in Flagstaff. I also have the Thug Kitchen books, which have lots of swearing and are all plant-based recipes...not that I'm going vegan or vegetarian, but eating less meat overall is something that I'm working towards. And last but not least, I follow the Pinch of Yum food blog, and I love her recipes so much...haven't found a stinker yet!

2. Do more yoga. Right now Yoga Revolution, the yoga studio I go to, is having their 30-day January challenge, where every class you take and every check-in you make enters you for a raffle at the end of the challenge. Everybody knows I love free stuff, and combining that with my recent love of yoga has gotten me in the studio more than ever this month. I want to keep that up, because yoga just makes me feel so good both mentally and physically. I honestly feel like I'm in the best shape of my life, and I feel like I have yoga to thank for it. My balance is better for skiing, my endurance and breathing is better for running, my form is better for weight lifting. I feel like I'm just more aware of what my body is doing, and how it's doing it, and I feel like the simple mindfulness of yoga has helped me get there. I'm trying to figure out a way to attend some of the yoga workshops...unfortunately their workshops all happen on Saturday afternoons, which is prime sleepy time for me following my regular Friday night shifts. Perhaps I'll start looking at changing up my schedule, because I think attending the workshops will give me some of the one-on-one time that I need to elevate my practice. Overall, this Betterment is already off to a good start. :)

My favorite space these days, Yoga Rev

3. Be more mindful about expenses. As per usual, here is the saving money Betterment. It wouldn't be a New Year's resolution post without it. This is probably my biggest ongoing challenge, as I'm definitely a person who is very much into instant gratification. I think I've mentioned before the high I get from buying things; anything at all from groceries to clothing to dog toys, which is not a good thing. I need to turn my head around and find value in what I'm doing, not what I'm spending. Since the first of the year, outside of a trip to Vegas, my spending has been on point. Outside of treats at a coffee shop, I've only bought myself a $7 tank top off eBay because I had eBay bucks to spend. Unnecessary, yes, as I could have just let the bucks expire, but I wanted a cute flowy top for yoga, and this was a good way to get one without spending much at all. Typically an eBay purchase leads to additional eBay purchases, but it didn't. I haven't been on eBay since. I don't know if you know, but this is huge for me. I've been able to dump a bunch of extra money into the mortgage while still adding money to savings. It's fun to watch the savings account grow and the mortgage amount decline (sooo slowly though). I just need to keep at it. Luckily I've got a thrifty spouse and some really thrifty friends, and their support and guidance has been huge for me. Throw in a few clothing exchanges with my girlfriends and half-price days at Goodwill and Savers and I've found myself the variety that I crave while spending little to no money to have it! I love the thrift stores here in town, and since discovering them I haven't bought a brand-new piece of clothing in months, but I need to limit my time in those as well, because even half-priced t-shirts from the Goodwill add up if left unchecked. It's so easy to overspend when you feel like you're getting a good deal.

Climbing ladders is free!

4. Choose experiences over things. This is really important, especially for me. While most things we do and the places we go entail spending money, there are ways to find value in those things without breaking the bank. For instance, when I go to a National Park, I almost always want to buy a benchmark magnet and a t-shirt to commemorate my visit. Why? I've got enough t-shirts to clothe several households of people, the last thing I need is another t-shirt. Or anything, really. Sometimes I just get in my head that I want something to commemorate a trip, or an experience, or a place; but what I really need is to be in the moment, make some memories, take some pictures, and call it good. I'm still relatively new at this, and continue to work at it. Luckily I've got Simon here encouraging me along the way.

Zip-lining with Simon, my brother, and Tori in Las Vegas

5. Buy a second car? Simon and I go back and forth on this one. To be honest, we really only need a second car during the winter and during monsoon season, and it's relatively rare at that. In the spring, summer, and fall months we can easily get by with the van, his motorcycle, and my scooter. The times that it's been an issue is mostly due to my gym and yoga schedule. I run into town every day if not twice a day to attend classes, which ties up the vehicle for Simon. Living out in Mountainaire has greatly diminished our carpooling opportunities with our in-town friends as well, which is a bit of a bummer but something that we made peace with when we decided to move out here. It would definitely be nice to have something four-wheel drive for going up to the ski hill in the winter. Right now Simon puts chains on the van and while that works, it's not something I'll ever do. I'm pulling the helpless female card on this one...the last thing I want to do is lay down in the cold mud to put chains on the van. I'd just rather not. Does my reluctance to get cold and dirty rationalize thousands of dollars in expense for a second vehicle? Not really...but...a cold and dirty Stefanie is not a happy Stefanie. At this point we're still holding off, but I've got a short of list of vehicles in my head that would be adequate if and when we decide to pull the trigger.

6. Stop running races. A wise woman once told me that retired runners make great bikers. I think I'm nearly there. I think 2019 is going to be my last year of running half marathons. While my races have taken me to some pretty cool places to run with some pretty cool people, it's getting less and less sustainable the older that I get. It's kind of sad, but I think it's time to quit while I can still walk without pain. My body just doesn't tolerate the long distances anymore. And let's be honest, given my excitement for organized races and my extreme reluctance to train for them, it's doubtful that it ever did. I really, really hate training, and couch to half-marathon is a terrible idea, but that's basically what I've been doing for the past few years. Don't get me wrong, I'm an active person and I engage in all sorts of physical activities, but if I don't run, I'm not going to be conditioned for running and eventually I'm going to cause some very real damage to my body. I've gotten pretty good at the run/walk approach to half-marathons, but when the adrenaline hits it's hard to not run when you're surrounded by all the energy and good cheer of the runners around you. I also typically talk other people into signing up for races with me, and unlike me, most of them actually train. Given that I was the initiator, I feel an obligation to keep up with them, and end up running far more and far faster than I typically would. So yeah, I'm looking at 5k and 10k races from here on out. There's a local running group here in town that does a 5k every Monday, starting and ending at a local brewery. Maybe if I can get running with them more consistently, I can re-evaluate my decision to nix the half-marathons. Until then, it looks like my last half-marathons will be Hawaii in April and Yosemite National Park in May...and possibly one in Alaska...thanks for that, Lindsey!

The Sedona 10k with Veronica and Charlotte

7. Hike/Camp more. In December I did a 39-mile backpacking hike with Simon and two of our friends on the Arizona Trail (AZT). It was the longest hike I've ever done. It was through a very beautiful part of Arizona that's slated to be re-routed as they make room for more mining, which is really sad. I'm glad I got to experience it though. We did about 13 miles each day, for 3 days straight. By the end of the hike I was dying, and if it weren't for all the chattering my friend Lindsay and I did over the last five miles, I may have just thrown myself on a century plant and ended it all...hahaha! It was pretty tough, and like my lack of conditioning for running, I wasn't accustomed to walking long distances over varied terrain while carrying 30-plus pounds of stuff on my back. Despite the challenges the hike produced, I absolutely loved it. I loved setting up camp at night and chatting about the things we saw that day, watching the stars come out, what we were going to eat when we got back to civilization. It was amazing being out in the wilderness and seeing almost no other human beings for miles and hours on end. It was so quiet and peaceful, which is something that's getting harder and harder to find these days with so much easy access to the wilderness. I'm definitely looking forward to the next long slog!

Hiking the AZT with Simon, Nick, and Lindsay

8. Foster cattle dogs and/or pugs. As some of you know, I attempted to adopt a cattle dog last fall, which was a pretty big fail, but an excellent and somewhat scary learning experience. I went into it thinking that it would be like adopting my previous cattle dog, Lady, who was so incredibly easy. I should have known that no two dogs are alike. I should have known that I was introducing this dog to Cooper far too quickly without taking the proper steps to make sure that they were safely and properly introduced. Luckily we realized quickly that it wasn't going to work out and ensured the safety of my little dude. I felt horribly about it. I had reached out to a friend of mine who fosters cattle dogs for a cattle dog rescue here in town, and she was very helpful and encouraged me to not give up on cattle dogs, that maybe this dog just wasn't the right dog. It's hard to know what that dog's background was or why she behaved the way she did. I reached out to the cattle dog rescue and am currently fostering a very sweet little girl named Kiki. She's a Shar-Pei cattle dog mix, and she's absolutely wonderful. She's been the perfect addition to our little family, and she's restored in me some of the confidence I lost when I had to return the other dog. It's hard to not fall in love with these little buggers and keep them all, but I'm going to do my best! Part of the reason I want to foster versus just outright adopt, is that I'm not really sure if I want another dog at this point. Cooper is still trucking along and doing well, but he's going to be 15 years old this year and it's only realistic to assume that he's got a year or so left with us, maybe not even that. After he's gone we might just want to be dogless for a bit, although I'm wondering how well I'll be able to handle that. I've had a dog in the house pretty much all my life. They bring me so much happiness and a sense of purpose, and they definitely curb my loneliness, and I think I would miss that if we didn't have a furry little buddy in the house. To bridge the gap to that decision, I think fostering dogs is the perfect solution. I get to help dogs find their forever homes, and I get to do so in an environment that isn't a shelter, which is so stressful for them. I can help people make a decision on whether or not a particular dog might be a good fit for their home, and their home a good fit for that dog. I'll have the advantage of actually knowing what a dog is like, rather than at the shelter where they know very little to nothing at all about a dog. I don't mean it to sound like I'm knocking shelters in any way, shape, or form; I actually used to work in a shelter and they are absolutely necessary and they do amazing work with what they're given, but they do have their limitations when it comes to making sure an animal is placed in a home with the highest chance of success. So we'll see how it goes. So far with Kiki it's going great. I can't imagine a better dog for our first foster. I've been dabbling with the idea of fostering a pug as well, but we'll see about that...pugs are a whole different animal!

Cooper and our foster dog, Kiki

9. Blog more. Of course this Betterment always has a spot. I love blogging. I don't know why I don't do it more. Sometimes I think the creativity factor isn't there, sometimes I'm just not in the mood, sometimes I just don't have anything to say. Sometimes my best ideas come to me on the fringes of sleep, only to be completely forgotten by morning. But I do enjoy it when I do it, so I should make a point to try to do it more. It seems like people enjoy reading my blogs as well, especially those who live far away and wonder what I'm up to, so I guess I should keep that in mind when I'm in a slump.


10. Ride my bike more. Since I'm planning to get out of running, I'm thinking that I should probably have something to replace it. Biking seems like a logical next step. I currently have a mountain bike and a fat bike/snow bike. While I used to be pretty gung-ho about mountain biking, it's definitely lost it's appeal for me over the past year. The danger factor and the risk for injury is never far from my thoughts when I'm out there on the bike, and that takes away from the experience for me. I know that there are easy trails out there that present little to no danger, and maybe I just need to get back to riding those. The trouble is that most of my friends have advanced far past me in their skills and abilities, and I feel bad holding them back to the easy trails. I guess I should just keep in mind that if they truly didn't want to ride with me, they wouldn't, and they wouldn't keep inviting me along on rides if they thought I couldn't do them. I think I just need to find a little more confidence and shed a little more of the fear. However, one thing I've really enjoyed recently is riding on gravel roads with my fat bike. I'm lucky in that I live in a place that has tons of public land, and within that public land is hundreds of miles of gravel roads, perfect for riding. There is a style of biking called gravel riding, where you basically just tear around on gravel roads for miles and miles. There's even races devoted to it, which I've intermittently thought about signing up for. But I don't think it makes much sense to do a gravel race on a fat bike, so I'd need another bike, and owning three bikes right now is just silly. Consider it a work in progress.

The fat bike, the love of my life...after Simon, of course

11. Drink more water. This is one Betterment I think everyone could stand to work on. I sometimes will go an entire day without drinking a single glass of water. Given that I don't drink soda, or coffee, or milk, or anything else really, that typically means that I'm not drinking anything at all. And then I wonder why I have headaches by the end of the day. So I'm working on that. My brother's girlfriend gave me a tumbler for Christmas with images of a pug doing yoga on it, and I've been drinking out of that for the past couple weeks, and I think I've actually been drinking more water because of that silly little cup. A little ridiculous that a cup should make a difference, but that's sometimes how these things are, and for now I'm going with it.

12. Figure out my scrapbook situation. So I've been saving ticket stubs, cards, photos, ribbons, and all manner of memorabilia from trips I've gone on, events I've attended, and places I've visited. I have an entire dresser full of scrapbooking stuff that really, really needs to be addressed. I struggle with the idea of scrapbooking though. Ideally, you scrapbook to have a momento of the places you've gone and the things that you've done, which is a great concept and nice visual reminder of all the fun you've had, and then you pass that book onto someone else when your time on this earth is about up. But what happens when I die and I've got no one to pass them on to? What happens to those books? Is anyone going to want them? Will anyone else find meaning in them or enjoy them? Is it even worth the time spent putting them together only to have them thrown away when I'm gone? I know I'm getting a little existential here, but if I'm going to put forth the effort of doing something, I want to feel like it's worth it. Scrapbooking can be as much or as little work as you want it to be, but in the end you're left with a book full of memories that means something to me, but might not mean a thing to anyone else. I guess if I find value in the books and look at them from time to time once they're finished, it probably doesn't matter what happens to them when I'm gone. At any rate, I need to do something with all that stuff.

Wow...twelve Betterments to work on. That's ambitious. Hopefully I can do better this year than I did last year. Given that I've already started on some of the Betterments, I'm already off to a good start. Here's to keeping at it, and having the best 2019 that I can. :)