30 Day Challenges

January to February: Yoga with Tim...I didn't do every day, but eventually I hit day 30...so good...he's become a household name.  "How's Tim today?" Daniel and the kids asked each morning.  My response, "I love Tim."

I read this article that came from a higher up at SYA.  I went to Tiger (Dutch store kids like a bunch), bought myself a sketch pad for 3 euro, waited til I was done with my 30 day yoga challenge with Tim, and started sketching most days.  I think I'm on day 15.  (I'm thinking of offering this as an option to my students for one of the two final writing projects for English class.  They could do the sketch a day for 30 days, and then write an essay on what they learned from doing this practice daily.)

Doing a 30 day pilates challenge to help with sore back.  Robin Long.  I'm on day six.  Hannah tells me which day I'm on because I forget.

I suggested a 30 day of gelato challenge.  One of the kids said to me, "But we already did that last summer."  Oh, right.  Gelaterias were all closed in Viterbo from mid-November until March.  Now they're at reduced hours and flavors, but we're getting lucky some days.  Saturday evening we ran to get to Antica Gelateria before it closed at 9pm (so the website said).  At 8:50pm, we arrived: dark and locked up.  We hustled to Gelart.  Closed.  There, at Piazza del Erbe, Mary called me over, "This is my history teacher," she said.  Her history teacher with two girlfriends, dressed up, friendly, gregarious.  "I'm so happy to meet you," she said.  I felt frumpy in my yoga pants and sweatshirt.  I told her we were striking out with gelato.  "Chiodo," she said.  "They have only three flavors, but they're really good."  Twenty yards down the road we found Chiodo, a bar cum gelateria with three flavors: chocolate, nocciolo, panna.  I said to the kids, "Your teacher is so young!  Is that the one who you say dresses well and her husband owns Subdued?"  Subdued is a clothing store right there at Piazza del Erbe.  Mary said, "She's your age."  Even I, who always think of myself as seven to ten years younger than I am, thought that this woman was younger than I was.  I mentioned feeling frumpy.  Sebastian said, "Oh no, you couldn't tell because you had on your jacket.  You looked fine."

Not sure which 30 day challenges are up next.  For now sketching and pilates (though thinking of slowing down on pilates -- getting stronger is good for me, but it's hard and I get sore).  Journaling? meditating? playing a game with the kids?  Or when we get back home, thirty days of ten minutes of yard work or gardening.  That sounds healthful and good.  Yard work and gardening are daunting for me, so this could be a good way in.