It was a difficult time for our staff to participate, as we have a board meeting and an office move at the end of this week. We also don't have in person staff meetings where we can promote this type of all-staff activity. If we try to do another group activity, we will need to find better ways to communicate--perhaps through word of mouth and supervisors.

This challenge encouraged me to make an appointment for a physical exam-I am definitely overdue. Also trying to eat more fruits and veggies and keep staying active-cycling, running, and tennis usually takes care of that!

 I'm trying to make a point of leaving the office every day at some point to get outside, look at some trees and green space, and otherwise mitigate the effects of a long, traffic-congested commute followed by sitting behind a desk for hours! 

Some thanks from last week

The gratefulness challenge has helped me realize that I do say "thank you" a lot, but also challenges me to take a minute to think about and write down what I'm grateful for. In these last few days of the challenge, I will try to use the challenge to express appreciation to folks I don't often thank explicitly. 

Well, I thought I'd win the whole challenge being vegan, but I guess not. (I thought it may make up for my being a pain in the butt at the national meetings, sorry to disappoint!) :) However, if anyone wants to watch "What the Health" tonight and be ready to comment on it tomorrow, I think that'd be fun!

And not to steal Allison's idea, but this will be my viewing partner:

Yesterday, I had worked 8 hours and still had most of my day's to do list left undone. But I remembered that one of my challenges is to not work more than 8 hours. I left the office and still had time to stop by the grocery store, heat up some dinner, and take the dog for a short walk. It's nice to be doing an employer-condoned activity that tells me not to work more than 8 hours!

Well, I succeeded in doing 3 out of my 4 challenges today.  Now, to get my husband to prepare more veggies with dinner!  He's a meat and potatoes guy, but a great cook!

I've lived in DC for over a year now, and have been wanting to connect with a community organization in a deeper way, beyond just attending events. Last week I met one on one with someone from a Showing Up for Racial Justice chapter and talked about what her committee does and needs. Setting a challenge to connect helped me go for it (no excuses about time, weather, energy), and now I have a friendly face to welcome me when I attend my first committee meeting. 

Sometimes complimenting your spouse is not the easiest thing to do, especially if you've been married over 20 years like I have!  I so appreciate having the added incentive through the eco challenge to find appreciation in my daily life, which brought a smile to my hubby's face!