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Odds and Ends

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image: Sally King Benedict

1. I faked a whole bunch of people out on Instagram this week. Heh.

2. I’ve always been a fairly healthy eater, but this past year I had to adopt a much stricter diet. It’s not as strict as Paleo, but not as lenient as just Gluten Free alone. Let’s call it Glaleo. Did I mention no alcohol? Pretty much very minimal sugar and dairy too. (Thank the heavens for Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips.)  The best part? I started this diet the day before Thanksgiving, and was forced to stare at a plate of turkey and lettuce while everyone else chowed down. It was so depressing.

But! Never fear! My outlook improved shortly after that, and I actually love the way I eat now. However, for those of you who make similar eating choices, you know how easily you can fall down the rabbit hole of “clean eating.” That’s why this article called The Tragedy of the Healthy Eater is the funniest thing I’ve ever read. Oh, how I’ve been there a few times.

3. Speaking of clean eating, this family cut out all sugar for an entire year. I bet you can guess what happened. (It’s true! And once you stop eating sugar, you don’t crave it all. Except maybe 2-3 days before your period, when you might find me crying on the couch with a spoonful of peanut butter sprinkled with the above-mentioned chocolate chips.)

4. My friend Amber wrote a gorgeous post for all of us. You should definitely read – what a great way to go into the weekend.

Starting right now and every Friday forward, I am going to list 5 things that happened to me during the week that I’m grateful for. (I spent a long time trying to fix that preposition fail, but I’m moving on and never looking back.)

Without further ado, my Friday Five.

1. Wita is quite the little performer, as many of you have witnessed on Instagram. She just sings and dances with such conviction, you all. Surprise surprise, her favorite song is “Story of My Life” by One Direction, and when she belts it out in the car, her sweet little voice just melts my heart. I love it so much.

2. These gloves. One of the medication side effects I’m dealing with right now is extreme sun sensitivity, which I thought meant to stay out of the sun as much as possible. However, it actually means if my skin is in any sort of sunlight for more than 2 minutes, I’m blistered toast. And once you burn, you burn. My poor hands just won’t seem to heal. As you can imagine, driving my children around all day in the Southern California sun has made things very difficult for me. Even my darkly-tinted windows don’t help at all. To make a long story short, it started to seem like my sole purpose in life was to chase the shadows on my steering wheel. Thank goodness for Sundriven – the gloves are lightweight, completely protective, and pretty dang cute.  I wear them day in and day out, and although I have the gray ones, I think the coral shade is calling my name too. Thank you, Sundriven!

3. A new yoga therapy class at my studio. I’m telling you, locals – if you have injuries or limitations or are just looking for a gentle yoga class, you should join me. I’m so glad Ekam Yoga added it to their roster, and I hope they keep it around! How many of you are on the restorative yoga bandwagon? So so good.

4. I’ve become obsessed with hummingbirds lately, and the cutest little bugger has been whizzing around my backyard this week. I think he knows he makes me happy. And I think I shall name him Ralph.

5. Last but certainly not least, all the love and support you all sent me throughout the week. I can’t thank you enough.

Feel free to leave your own snippet of gratitude from the week. There’s just something about putting it into words that works. Happy weekend!

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18 comments
  1. Haley

    April 11, 2014 at 8:18 am

    Sarah, I’ve been a long-time semi-frequent reader, and always loved your stuff…

    BUT, I think I’m absolutely hooked now, and I’m loving your new mix of topics/style. I can’t put my finger on exactly why. Doesn’t really matter though! I just love reading your work.

    • whoorl

      April 11, 2014 at 9:18 am

      Thanks, Haley! I really appreciate that!

  2. Beverly

    April 11, 2014 at 10:16 am

    I agree with Haley! Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it. I love to see new posts pop up in my Feedly each day. :)

    This week I’m grateful for my friends – both new and old. It seems as I get older, I lose more friends, but the ones that stick with me are kindred spirits and they’ll all mean more to me than they’ll ever know.

    • whoorl

      April 11, 2014 at 12:42 pm

      Thank you! And I totally agree with the friend thing. So grateful for my friends who have dug in with me during this crazy time!

  3. Abby

    April 11, 2014 at 10:16 am

    I’m grateful for a kid who’s just starting to get into performing for us too, which is honestly Just So Damned Cute. It’s like, yes, this performance of “ballet” followed by a shoes song (that mostly is just her atonally singing “I love shoes, I love shoes so much” over and over again) is the whole reason I dealt with the wailing & incommunicado baby years! It finally seems worth it. :)

    Also, in case it helps: I think the best way to avoid ending on a preposition there is “…that happened to me during the week, for which I’m grateful.” Somewhat awkward, I know, but I think it’s the best alternative.

    • whoorl

      April 11, 2014 at 12:42 pm

      Haha, thank you. And that song sounds like the Best. Song. Ever.

  4. Misvirginia

    April 11, 2014 at 10:22 am

    “I’m going to list 5 things that happened during the week FOR WHICH I AM GRATEFUL!” there you go- all fixed! :) I LOVE this idea and actually, at night, every night as I go to sleep- I’m trying to think of 3 things that day for which I am grateful (hee hee). It does really help my mental state trying to focus on the positive. I’ve followed your blog for so many years and I just think you are so wonderful. The struggles you’ve been through are incredibly tough and I applaud honesty. I’m in the throws of my own struggles (aren’t we all?) and I’ve learned so much through your experiences and all your recommendations. Thank you so much and just know you have truly helped someone (me!) immensely!

    • whoorl

      April 11, 2014 at 12:45 pm

      Thank you so much! It makes me so happy to know I’m helping out in any way. Blogging is so weird in that you reach a lot of people, but it still can be so physically and mentally isolating. It’s comments like yours that remind me that we are all here to support each other, and sharing our struggles is the way for all of us to grow closer.

  5. Stacey

    April 11, 2014 at 10:46 am

    I love hummingbirds too! I was sort of shocked how often I see them here (I’m still new to the OC), they must love all our gorgeous flowers:) P.S. I love all the artwork you’ve been posting!

    • whoorl

      April 11, 2014 at 12:45 pm

      Thank you! (And thank Pinterest. Ha.)

  6. Cyrie

    April 11, 2014 at 12:31 pm

    I am grateful to be alive and physically active. Did you know that Enjoy Life has regular sized dark chocolate chips and semisweet chocolate chunks too!? All of their chips melt really well for dipping, but you probably already know this.
    Even if you aren’t religious or whatever, you may enjoy reading, Grateful in Any Circumstance by Dieter F. Uchtdorf. Or not, it just came to my mind while I was reading your post…

    Keep on keepin on! You are killin it!

    • whoorl

      April 11, 2014 at 12:46 pm

      Thank you! And NO, I didn’t know about those options. (Running to the store right now.) Thanks for the book rec!

  7. whoorl

    April 11, 2014 at 12:41 pm

    WAIT! I forgot the best one – I have date night with my husband tonight!

  8. Amber

    April 11, 2014 at 5:16 pm

    Thanks so much for the shout-out, my dear! Much appreciated. You continue to be one of the most delightful spots on my internet. :)

  9. Andrea @ Mama in the City

    April 12, 2014 at 8:11 am

    Well that is a pretty great list! You should totally get the coral driving gloves, I bet they’d make you happy each time you caught a glimpse of them while driving.

  10. Suz

    April 12, 2014 at 9:41 am

    What a great idea! One habit I’ve picked up this year is journaling each night – I got a 5 Year Journal that asks a specific question each day and you answer it over the course of 5 years. I’m already impatient to see how it changes as years pass! It has helped me document some of the little things that make me happy, and realize good things are happening all the time.

    Switching gears, I can relate to the food issues. I’ve been gluten free for over seven years now (also egg free, and strangely mollusk free) due to allergies identified in my late 20s. I can eat most other stuff but in general try to limit things like dairy and sugar. However I’ve been off the wagon the past month and really feeling it! Time to get back to basics – it only takes a few days before I feel so much better! I’ll need some of the enjoy life chips for my chocolate cravings though, that is my downfall!