Day Zero Project: Not Quite on Life Support

Admittedly, my commitment to the Day Zero Project has waned considerably since becoming pregnant. My mind has often been elsewhere, and there are quite a few things that no longer seemed reasonable (ride a horse, complete a 10K, or hike to Machu Pichu, for instance!). But, I have ticked a few things off the list since my last update, and I think I'll get a few more done before the scheduled completion date of April 10th. Though I'm only on track to complete maybe half of my list, I'm still happy with this project as a way of pushing my boundaries, doing some of those things that I'm always meaning to do, and even tracking where my mind was three years ago and how my interests and priorities have shifted. I think I'll do it again after this one "expires."

Since last I reported, here's what I've ticked off the list:

-Make my own sushi

Sometime last year before my buddy Mimi went back to the States, she hosted a slumber party for the girls in our book club. She was fresh from a sushi making class and was kind enough to share her wisdom with me, giving me my own lesson. We prepped sushi for everyone for dinner, and I thought the results were pretty stellar, if I do say so myself. (This was pre-pregnancy, lest you be concerned about my pregnancy diet. I can assure you, I've diligently kept our little Hushpuppy listeria free).

-Cold brew coffee

I can't tell you how long "cold brew coffee" has been on that to-do-someday list in my mind. Literally years, ever since I read an beautiful editorial in - I think - the NY Times (which I can no longer summon on Google) about the merits of this method. This is exactly the kind of item that I'm happy to have the Day Zero project for - something so simple that just never made it to the top of my priority list. It is easy (I ended up going with this recipe in my French press, diluting it with milk rather than water), and makes such sweet, elegant coffee. Ever since I gave cold brew a try, I have not made it hot, and expect this to be my standard for the rest of this and probably every summer.

-Lose 20 pounds

I'm sort of embarrassed about how cliche this goal is, but I'd noticed  that I'd begun creeping up in poundage for no particular reason that I could tell. Partner-in-Crime hit the nail on the head when I complained about it ... "you're happy with your life and you like to bake." It really was that simple. When we started planning to conceive, I decided that I wanted to be in the best shape I could be for pregnancy - partially because I knew it was a good idea for the baby and me and partially because I was determined to do everything in my power to be in the "low-risk" category so that I could have the baby at the birthing center. Fun fact about me is that I once lost 100 pounds in one year doing Weight Watchers and moderate exercise; so I already know what works for me. Out came the Weight Watchers guides, off I went to the gym, and by the time I became pregnant a couple months later, I was down 20 pounds and feeling good.

-Do a silent meditation retreat

I shared my morning yoga practice with the horses in the pasture.

Partner-in-Crime and I have been attending a Unitarian Universalist group that meets every 3 wees or so for about two years now. The group has become an integral part of our spiritual lives. In October, the group got together at a center near the Blue Mountains one weekend for our first retreat. Our minister has a particular interest in mindfulness meditation, so most of the work we did at the retreat focused on that philosophy and some of its techniques. With the aim of going more spiritually inward, we agreed to a silent retreat. I personally loved that aspect of it. I got up in the mornings and took my yoga mat outside for some quiet practice, had some solitary walks along the beautiful property, wrote haiku (one of our exercises and a surprisingly meditative act!) and enjoyed being present with the group without needing to converse. By the end of the retreat, everyone had pretty much slipped out of silence, but there was still enough practice for me to feel the benefit.

Communing with a new friend at our retreat. Our friendship lasted as long as the apple.

-Floss at least twice a week for a year

Yes. I know you're supposed to floss everyday. If you do, you are either a dental professional or my oral hygiene hero. Personally, I am horrible at flossing, even though I know all the benefits. When I set this goal, I knew there was absolutely no chance in this world or the next that I was going to floss every single day for a year. But, get a bit more regular with my sporadic flossing? That I thought I could do. I got myself on a schedule and even wrote "F"'s on our wall calendar on each day I was supposed to floss. (P-i-C suggested that guests might think we were keeping track of something else with that insignia, but I was not deterred). I completed my year in June. I won't lie and say I've kept up such a regular schedule since then, but I am definitely more conscience and diligent than I was before.

-See Regina Spektor in concert

When I first arrived in Sydney, tickets were just going on sale for a couple of to-be sold out shows that Regina Spektor was performing at the Opera House. I adore Regina Spektor and desperately wanted to go, but I was in such a state of sticker shock at that point that I just wanted to cry every time I looked at the price of the tickets (or clothes, or bread, or anything, really). I could not fathom how anyone could spend so much for a concert. The nights of the concerts, I was so sad to not be there and when I read a write up the next day about how marvelous she'd been, I decided that if and when she returned to Australia, I would be there. Hence this goal. In December, she returned, and I scooped up tickets for P-i-C and myself. And you know what? Totally worth every penny.  I wrote about my favorite moment on my Facebook, and someone actually posted a video of it on Youtube.

If you don't know Regina Spektor, here's a great piece on her that was on the Australian news for this tour.

Though most of my "goals" at this moment are more along the lines of "wash all the baby clothes" and "finish setting up the bassinet," rather than "read all the Greek plays" and "buy a surfboard," there are a few more on my Day Zero list that I am close to completing, so I expect I'll have one more report by the end. And, good news is that one of my goals (previously unadvertised here) is "have a baby." It becomes ever more apparent daily that I'll be able to check that one off the list sometime before too long. 

P.S. - This post is brought to you by the Sydney Heat Wave, which has left me powerless to do anything but move between the pool and sitting in front of the computer in the bedroom with our portable A/C unit cranking on high. It's 108 today, and I got a kick out of the Weather Channel's prognostication skills. I think they might want to reconsider the projected high!