Making a List...and Checking it Twice...

...that would be Santa.  I made a list and I'm checking things off.

#3: Paint Some Pottery
My dad is an amazing ceramicist, and it was always a treat to accompany him while he worked the ceramic wheel and threw pots.  Back in the day, my sister and I used to play with the clay and shaped it into things since we were too young to work the wheel. 

This past May, my grandma passed away.  As my aunt was going through her things, she found a worm that I had made for her.  She was always fond of small, collectable trinkets and miniature animals, so perhaps this was my intention to make her something small and special, knowing that she would like it.  I later found out that I had named it Lowly, after Lowly the Worm who was a character in the Richard Scarry stories that I read at the time.  

Lowly the Worm. My first pottery piece that I made for my grandma.

This was apparently my artistic inspiration, according to my dad. 

Today I got the worm back and it made me cry because it was a reminder of my grandma and how she took amazing care of the fragile, small things in life.  She was 105 years old, and she had somehow managed to keep the worm I made her when I was just 6 years old.  In this life, we have so many things.  My grandma was so grateful and content with the little she had, and this was reflected in the way that she took immaculate care for the material things she called her own.

Switching gears...
This past year (yes, this is how long it took for me to find a fellow pottery painter!), I was itching to paint some pottery.  I asked a lot of people if they wanted to paint.  I got turned down repeatedly.  But at least everyone was honest- "I'm not artistic!  I'm not creative!  That kind of stuff stresses me out!"  I think 99.9% of the people I asked would rather have a colonoscopy than walk into a ceramic studio and paint.  But I found the 0.1% who happens to love this kind of stuff and finds it relaxing and a creative release, so off to Color Me Mine we went.  

It's so fun, you can choose a blank piece and basically paint whatever you desire.  You can freehand or use stencils; they fire your piece for you and you pick up your finished product in a week.  There's something about the intention and love that goes into creating a gift.  I made a mug for my PIC with symbols and pictures that reminded me of our adventures and of our friendship.

Painting for PIC, with PK.

If you want to exercise your right-brain tendencies or feel particularly creative and artistic and want to paint pottery, well, you know who to call.

#15: Discover a Beer That I Actually Like
It only took a beer flight at The Trappist and a friend to discern my facial expressions to narrow it down...the dark imperial stouts seem to be up my alley.  We also got voted best dressed couple by the bartender. Too bad they weren't giving out free beer for prizes.  And too bad we're not a couple.

The Old Rasputin was the winner winner chicken dinner here.

Even the vomit-worthy sweaters didn't ruin the taste of Dogfishhead Palo Santos!

#30: Try Maca Powder
No, not Chris Macca.  If you're curious what this is, you can read about the benefits here.  But now that I've been putting this into my foods for the past week, somehow I feel like I'm stronger and invincible, like how Macca used to be...when he was winning Ironman Wold Championships and before he started DNF'ing. 

I've officially hopped onto the green (smoothie) machine bandwagon.

With my recent Vitamix purchase, it's been easy to incorporate this into my morning green smoothie.  I've completely stopped drinking my morning coffee during the week to see if my energy levels  can be maintained on plant power alone.  So far, so good.  I throw a teaspoon of maca powder into a mixture of organic dinosaur kale, spinach, apple, frozen berries, Vega Sport base, glutamine, matcha green tea, ginger and cardamom.

Today I knew I needed more carbohydrates to fuel a 66 mile bike ride, so I did my usual pre-ride breakfast of oatmeal, chia seeds, cinnamon, BiPro protein, and added a teaspoon of maca powder.  It may be all psychological now, but I feel better!  We'll see in a few weeks, but Rich Roll uses it, and, well, I'll leave it at that.  That man is a plant-powered, maca-munching machine.

Fueled by oatmeal and maca.  And some (liquidgas) coffee.  (It was FREE! Who can resist free coffee?)

Anyone else have natural supplements that they have found to boost recovery and energy levels?