Big lessons and adventures in food truckin'..

Things I've noticed...

When I know I have a call with Anjali each week, I'm more inclined to do what I say I'm going to do because I will be checking in with her.  BUT, when we have a break, I am SO QUICK to return to old habits! WTH?!? Anjali is on a wonderful vacation right now and I committed to writing while she was gone... but I'll tell ya... this bedtime thing... yikes. Breaking the 'night owl' habit is challenging! And now I'm thinking about The Four Agreements and 'having integrity with my word'.. ARGH. I frustrate the hell outta myself when I don't keep my integrity with myself. Definitely the toughest agreement for me. Yay for challenges, right? lol

Did GREAT the first week when we started back - in bed by 10:30.  I was exhausted and was getting a good night's sleep from about 10:30-6 or 7 am, depending on the day. According to my sleep app, my sleep quality was 75%++.  I was getting 8 hours of sleep and feeling REALLY good.

Anjali had told me about the Ayurvedic Clock and how important it is to sleep between the hours of 10-6 am... 8 hours of sleep is not always the same, especially if it doesn't include the hours of 10-2am.  I have TOTALLY learned the reality of this.  One day this past weekend, went to bed at 1 am and slept til 9 am... got my 8 hours but holy cow, I was ZONKED trying to wake up in the morning! Same 8 hours but NOT the same 8 hours... there is something seriously important about sleeping during 10-2am.  If I stay awake during that time and instead get my deep sleep from 2-6 am, the grogginess waking up is really noticeable. This is the first time I've ever noticed it, probably because I've never been getting to bed that early before. Like, EVER. LOL... amazing what happens when I get good sleep at the right time of night.


Had a good exercise in staying present and NOT panicking this week. Poor Evelyn had some issues while on the way to a Falacos event...

My post from Facebook:

We had Swift Fleet Services come out Monday to investigate a dash light that kept popping off and on. Figures, it didn't show when Chad came to check us out. Nothing was popping up for him on computer, so no diagnosis.

Thursday, driving down 45, Evelyn decided to tank on us.. She shut down quick, at least we made it to the feeder road.

Taylor Pearl Bonola was ALL OVER IT and got us a wrecker ASAP and Chad on his way to check us out. Rather than towing her home, we towed her to The Millennium Waterway so we could still open for biz!

Chad came and got us fixed up - fuel pumps all ok, lines loose and dirty. He cleaned us up a bit and she fired right back up! YES!!!! New fuel filters are now installed and WE ARE GOOD!!!!

Taylor & Chad with Swift Fleet and Wyatt with AW Towing SAVED OUR ASS! THANK YOU GUYS!!!

Let's just say... sitting on the side of the road, blocking traffic, waiting on a wrecker and not knowing what was wrong with Evelyn was a great opportunity to FREAK OUT. I am pretty proud of myself for keeping it together and I telling myself "everything can be fixed, this too shall pass, roll with it".. and it DID. All over in less than 2 hours. WHEW!!!

I'm beyond grateful it was nothing major and we still got to be open for business. I never want to cancel on an event and we were determined to get there, even if we were late. I felt awesome about that - Falacos is committed to our venues FO SHO!

Panick, avoided... and now bedtime.. STILL AVOIDING. GAR!!!  Looking at the time now - time to go home, stop blogging and balancing the checkbook and get my butt in bed. :) See ya around town, gang!

Week #13? I think? We've skipped some levels... Time to be back on track.

On April 7, 2016 my world took a new direction. Falacos, our food truck, was born. It's been a wild and beautiful ride so far! I'm learning so much, in this new business and about myself.

I have to admit, all of the self-care work I was doing with Anjali before opening this food truck has gone completely out the window over the last two months. My schedule has been so off, working odd hours and trying to learn the flow of this new business, I've totally gotten off track with my weekly coaching. Two weeks ago, I started back with Anjali, and I'm so grateful 

Last week, we had a good chat about what's been going on for me and how I've been dealing with it all. I've been practicing no judgment, actively correcting my thoughts so as to not criticize myself for getting off track. I have a tendency to do that sometimes. I beat up on myself when I have behavior that I don't like. I was doing so well! But, life happens. Being gentle with myself is very important. No one else is criticizing me for losing track of my daily self-care activities but me. Time for that to stop. I'm back on track now, and that's what matters. 

Last week, we started with something simple. No more cell phone after 8 PM. I have a hard time unwinding and being present at home because I'm so plugged in doing work stuff catching up on social media, etc. There were days I was on the phone past 8 PM because I got home past 8 PM and I had business stuff to check up on, but those days are few and far between, thankfully.

This week, my goal was for me to get back on track with my writing of this blog. I wanted to be tracking my progress with the food truck and documenting things here, so I'm committed to be back writing about what's going on in my world.

The food truck life is been absolutely amazing, chaotic at times, but that's what I signed up for. I'm learning so much about this new business, planning, food prep, how much time it all takes, and it's been an awesome ride so far. Business is going well and people love the food, so I'm very very happy about that. The business aside, my mental state and anxiety has really been in the crapper. I have not been fully present during my day because my mind is in a million other places thinking and planning about what I need to do next.

For example, I recently cut myself on the truck doing food prep. I was in a rush, cutting vegetables and not really thinking about the task I was doing, my mind was somewhere else. As a result, I almost cut the end of my thumb off. It sucked! But it got my attention. And it got me thinking, if I was fully present and focused on whatever task it is I'm doing, how much more effective would I be at it? And maybe, just maybe, I would not hurt myself because I'm so mentally distracted. It was a huge wake up call for me. When I'm brushing my teeth, cutting vegetables, spending time with my family, I need to be fully there all the time, and not somewhere else in my mind.

Since the injury, I've been paying very close attention to what I'm thinking about and when I'm thinking about it and how often. For example, I just spent an amazing weekend out at Burning Flipside, a beautiful camping experience in the middle of the woods every memorial day weekend. It's very energizing and gives me a new perspective every time I go and I learn new things about myself. This time was no different. It was a hard exercise for me to not think about the food truck this entire weekend, and to be present there with my friends and enjoying the experience. Yes, I know I will be open again on Wednesday, and I have grocery shopping to do on Tuesday, but I can think about that then, not now. I am kinda obsessive about planning, I plan everything! It's not necessary! And I know this. I've been doing this planning and projecting stuff for so long, it's a hard habit to break! But I'm committed to doing it. If I allow myself the time I need in which to plan, and stick to it in that time, I don't need to think about it any other time. This is how I am working to stay present in each moment and not project and run lists through my head of things I need to do. I will get to them when I get to them, I don't have to do it all right now.

Something else Anjali has brought to my attention, on our call two weeks ago I was extremely tense and spun up at 9 o'clock on Monday morning, yammering on about happenings with the food truck. She gently reminded me that the work we're doing is for me to work on myself mentally and emotionally and spiritually, basically, not talk about work related stuff. She did a brief meditation with me, and totally got me grounded and centered for our phone call so I could think about the tasks that I need to be thinking about for myself. Not the food truck. I love how she can feel my energy through the phone and know whenever I'm not fully present. I'm so very grateful for our chats, she is definitely my accountability partner when it comes to my self care. Her coaching is wonderful because she makes sure that I'm taking care of me like I'm supposed to... not really sure why that is still so hard for me, and I know knowing the "why" is the boobie prize, so I'll just keep making these little changes to improve my state of mind and serenity.

I'm also so very grateful that I have a husband that keeps me accountable as well. There have been several days where I come home from work and I just vomit my day out on him and then keep thinking about work and talking about it. After this happening so many times, Benny let me know that he would really like it if when I'm home, I could be home, and not still doing work stuff. And he's right. I need to be home and I need to be resting and shutting my brain off. Which is exactly what Anjali is trying to get me to do! Benny has been great at helping me with little reminders about what time it is if I'm on the phone so I know to quickly get off, etc. I also asked my Falacos first mate, Daniel, to keep me accountable as well. When he sees me and my little energy tornado, I asked him to tell me "Courtney, take your head off"! And that's my signal to know that my brain is definitely somewhere else and I need to be fully aware and focus on what's in front of me. I know support is very crucial when wanting to make changes or create new things in my life. Asking the people around me that I spend all my time with to point out when I'm doing these behaviors I want to change, it will be very helpful for me.

Anjali and I had our call yesterday for this week and my new goal is to be in bed by 10 pm. Getting enough rest is a self care struggle I have - this little voice in my head has a little tantrum that says "but I don't WANNA go to bed early!" and acting on that voice and staying up late doesn't serve me well... It's time to take action and get my butt into bed because it's good for me. As busy as my world is, proper sleep to keep me energized is very important. Last night, I was asleep by 10:30 and I woke up at 8 feeling refreshed and so much better! Yes!! I love sleep. 

And on that note... It's past 10, time for bed. Sleep tight, my friends. :)

Week #10 - Recharged, back to nature and feeling present.

Back from an incredibly powerful weekend in Chicago - participated in the Basic Seminar of Pathways to Successful Living and I'm totally ON FIYAH!! I love the connection I feel and epiphanies I have during these seminars... It's indescribable. We are all humans, learning to live life to the fullest and how to get along together, loving each other from an accepting and compassionate place - and Pathways has taught me so much.  #Falacos wouldn't be happening if it weren't for #PathwaysSeminars.  That was a pivotal, life changing experience for me and I've had a fire lit inside of me ever since.  It's powerful beyond measure and I love sharing it with the people around me.

While in Chicago, we went exploring and I finally got to see "The Bean"!  It was too cool!!

Check in from last week:

• Keep up all routines - meditate each morning for 10-20 minutes, have breakfast of some kind, every day. Off phone and start wind down at 8 pm. Move to bed by 11:15, asleep by midnight.  The bedtime was way off this week but with travel, that was to be expected. Definitely had breakfast - something about exercising the mind and personal growth that makes me HUNGRY! 

• The new activity was to start meditating for 5 minutes before bed because while out of town at the seminar, my days are very full and my body is sometimes exhausted but my mind can't shut off and I don't sleep well out of town. This worked GREAT while I was on vacation - but then stopped doing it when I got home. DOH! That wasn't the goal, this was to be a new thing! LOL Realized this on our call this week and decided to make that my refocus this week going forward.  

I knew when I got home from Chicago it was gonna be GO TIME for my new food truck, Evelyn, and I reeeeeeally wanted to solve my "I need an employee ASAP" dilemma before I left.  Coach Bob advised me to stick with my circle and just put it out to people I know and see what happens.  I wrote out an employee vision describing all the qualities I wanted in a teammate (who I want to eventually run this truck) and posted it all around on some foodie groups on Facebook.  Some people shared it and I got an email from a very motivated individual. Long story short, I interviewed Daniel and hired him before I went to Chicago! YAHOO!!! Daniel totally rocks, loves eating clean and staying fit - and he's bilingual too, which was a bonus on my vision! Thanks, universe!!! :)  Had our first day of training on Evelyn last Friday - we are so stoked and ready to get cookin on this baby!!

Our big OPENING DAY is coming up on April 7th at the Farmers Market in Conroe!! I can't believe we are only a few weeks away!! We are planning to be at every Farmers Market in Conroe this year - always remember first Thursday from 4-8. :)

My birthday was March 15th, the day after I got home from Chicago. I came home to find such a wonderful gift - Benny had been working in the garden and it looks SO FINE!! We are totally gonna have a load of veggies this year and I am really excited about that!!  AND, my wisteria started blooming! Such a great birthday week!!

 

I let Anjali know my schedule is so full right now, I'm hesitant to take on a new task or focus for this week - I want to definitely refocus on the night-time meditation and make that a habit this week. She suggested something simple and awesome, and I've already started.

New goal for this week:

• Notice the end of my day.  If I start my day at 8 am or before and I end it at 6, that's a 10 hour day - and it's totally ok for me to turn it off and start my ME time from 6-10 pm. Again, we are working to get me in more alignment with the Ayurvedic clock, as much as possible. Late nights with Falacos will totally jack that up, but the idea is to just focus and ask myself "can this wait until 8 am tomorrow?" and if it can, TURN WORK OFF and enjoy my personal family time in the evening. I can do this. Last night, I became aware of 6 pm and even told my office mate "it's time for me to go".. however, I had important things to do that really couldn't wait (cuz I knew it was my only day in the office this week) and I stayed until 8 pm.  The PROGRESS for me tho, is that ordinarily, I would have stayed til 10 cuz I could have and there was stuff to do.  But that stuff could be delegated (so I did) or wait a few more days. Talk about growth for me! Today, I spent my day getting my Food Manager Certification for the City of Houston. Was home before 6, spent some time in the garden, jamming out this blog right now and then DONE! Time for family. 

A new affirmation: I own 2 businesses and I have a peaceful life.

Hell. Yes. If it's gonna be, it's up to me! I choose to be present and peaceful.  That's where it's at!

Week #9 - Travelling and new tasks.

Checking in a little early this week - leaving bright and early for Chicago to be of service and on staff for the March Basic class of Pathways to Successful Living Seminars. I will be all tied up on Sunday, so Anjali and I had our call today and I wanted to get this blog out before I left. :)

I love Pathways weekends - a super powerful recharge that gets my mind in alignment and my soul on FIYAH.  What would you do with an inspirational weekend that could change your life?  I was skeptical at first... now? HA!!! I'd pay 3 times the cost and do it all 10 more times, these results in my life are so amazing!  5 years ago, sad, depressed, negative, burnt out... today? LIMITLESS. If you've ever wondered where all my energy and light came from?  Highly recommend Pathways.. it's a game changer for those who are ready!!

Check in from last week:

• Healthy lunches. Well.... planning is EVERYTHING! As I shared in last Sunday's blog, I lacked groceries so I had a protein shake in lieu of lunch for a couple of days, finally got groceries on Saturday, forgot I had lunch appointment on Monday but still ate well - guacamole salad - and yesterday and today, both were hearty big salads for lunch. NO CRAP FOOD! That's PROGRESS!!! :)

In other Falacos news... WE HAVE A REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM!!  Falacos now has the best drinking water on any food truck - and it ain't in plastic bottles!

 

Before our call this week, I was thinking up what would be good for me to have as a weekly goal, knowing I'm leaving town and didn't want to try and implement anything new and unrealistic... found it!

 

New goal for this week:

• Meditate before bed. I am steadily meditating 10-20 minutes each morning, but not at night before bed.  I will need to relax my mind each night during seminar, so this is a great time to start an evening meditation practice.  Anjali cautioned - not to say I'm going to do 10 minutes every night the first week - only start with 5 minutes.  I can do 5 minutes! 

 

This is really intriguing - I wasn't looking for results when I started meditating but I'm calmer now, move slower, less chaotic, quieter mind, more attentive and present... I didn't know these things were gonna happen but I'm super happy about it!!  Now that I've been doing it every morning for weeks to prime my day... things are shifting.  In my head, specifically. I wasn't looking for a certain result - I just started meditating. When I get beyond the voice and stay there for awhile, allowing the thoughts to pass by like dandelion seeds floating in the breeze... it's lovely.

 

 

A watcher. YES. Not the mind and all its thoughts - it's just a bodily function... To be the watcher and nothing else. Getting in the gap is where it's at!

 

Namaste, y'all!

Week #7 - Time for fuel.

This past week was pretty rockin. :) Super charged from my relaxing weekend, I've been feeling more chill, calm, present and happy. AMAZING what can happen when I get off technology and work on connecting with the earth.. it's like magic! We have veggies and herbs and I'm so excited. :)

Check in from last week:

• Morning routine - CHECK! In fact, spent 15-20 minutes meditating some mornings. Not planned but had the extra time, so took it! I love starting my day with a calming wake up time and no phone or email or FB... it sets the tone for the whole day!
• Bedtime alarm for 11:15. While I didn't have the alarm set every night, I stayed very aware of the time and I got in bed before midnight. Getting better sleep!
• Off phone by 8 pm. This wasn't perfect but HOLY COW, I am LOOOVING being off the phone! Just being present with the people in my space is a wonderful thing.. really enjoying being still and sometimes taking moments to think about absolutely nothing - cuz I CAN!!

Had another check in with the food truck, too... which, btw, she has a NAME!! Finally decided on Evelyn, naming her after my grandma - her name is Evelyn Colleen Barton.  She is so precious to me and I have lots of fond memories of us doing stuff in the kitchen together when I was little, so it seemed fitting. The burners are in, decals placed and will be applied, now just waiting on the wooden counter on the outside and it's GO TIME!!!

Will be travelling to Chicago this week, I'm on the March Basic staff for Pathways to Successful Living and I'm so grateful to be going - Pathways is my mojo recharge!! I get to be of service and support a class of students (who I was once) and also have the opportunity to do my own self work and grow over the weekend.  I always learn so much from the folks in the class - know how they say "others are a mirror of us"?  Well... that's very true. :)

New goal for this week:

• My morning routine has been going great and my nighttime routine is getting better - getting offa that phone was #1, such a distraction - so now we are going to focus on fueling my body better.  I've been having some form of breakfast each day, so now it's time to work on LUNCH. I checked my calendar when we had our call on Thursday, to see which days in the next week I already had reserved for lunch - all the rest would be eligible for my new lunch routine. Friday, Saturday, today, Monday and Wednesday were all available.  Admittedly, I lacked proper groceries to have a decent lunch on Friday and Saturday (went to store last night) but I DID have a protein shake both days and that was a new behavior! Better than my usual habit of nothing, lol, so I'm glad to say I got something in my system. Got salad fixins at the store last night so today, Monday and Wednesday are all on schedule for a healthy lunch! Amazing what happens when I plan and get the stuff I need for my goal and just focus on a week at a time. THAT'S MANAGEABLE! :)

Self care has been my focus throughout this journey and I know eating proper meals is a big part of good self care.. I admit - I am lazy when it comes to food prep on a daily basis. LOL... oh the irony - I'll cook for other people but lazy when it comes to cooking for myself. :) This is a new behavior for me and a big deal - I need ENERGY with this new business I got goin on! 

Time to get back out to my garden - daylight is burnin!!

Week #6 - Getting grounded and dirty.

I'm reminded of an old lesson I thought I learned a few years ago about the joys of being unplugged.  This "no phone" thing has been the best experience!!  I set a goal while on vacation one time.. no phone at all. No texts or Facebook or anything... and it was so peaceful... and somewhat strange because I suddenly had so much time on my hands. Last week, I focused on being off the phone after 9 pm and I'm starting to really like it - I don't miss it at all.

Last week check in:

• All morning routines consistent.  Often meditating 15 or 18 minutes if I have the extra time in the morning.
• Breakfast a definite.
• 9 pm no phone.  I didn't always make it exactly at 9 pm, but as soon as I realized it was after 9, phone goes on the charger.  This keeps it out of my face so I'm not tempted to compulsively check it.  I can't believe how unconscious it has gotten for me.. I'm always checking it, it's compulsive and I want to change - it needs to be a tool for business, not a time waster when I'm at home.

In the last week, by being off the phone, I've noticed I am easily able to get quality time with Ben every day.  As my world spins up with Falacos, it will be more important to be intentional about my time with my husband and make sure we connect every day on an intimate level, shutting out the world and making sure we are giving each other attention.  We are talking every night and having some wonderful conversations.

One night, the topic came up: What did we used to do at night before smart phones and Facebook?  Well, we used to drink and were a lot more social, going to bars and hanging out with friends.  We noticed that since we quit drinking in 2013, we've become home bodies and gotten more absorbed in our phones and less connected with each other when we're in the same room together.  It's been nice to snap to reality and realize there are better ways we could be spending our time.

I noticed in the last week I was getting to bed much closer to midnight because we were staying up talking and lost track of time. This created a new focus for this week!

New focus this week:

• Set alarm at night for 11:15 so this will prompt me to go to bed. (Already seeing I need to readjust this because my phone is on charger beside bed and I haven't been hearing the alarm. Asking Ben to support me and set an alarm on his phone for 11:15 - his phone is usually beside him. I've got to get this habit of an earlier bedtime because when Falacos hits, I'll be needing to get up super early and I need to get enough sleep.)
• Start focusing on rolling back my wind down time to 8 pm. If I'm still going strong at 8 pm, observe, how long have I been working today? I've likely done plenty and I should be in rest mode, winding down and ready for sleep. Starting to put phone on charger at 8 pm.

Anjali said something this week that really resonated with me... if I'm up and going by 8 am, it's totally ok to give myself permission to be done with my "work" for the day and winding down at 6 pm, focusing on dinner and my nightly self care routine. 

SHE IS SO RIGHT!! And that's the kicker - I have to give myself permission.

I'm addicted to doing stuff, feeling productive, there's so much to do in a day, surely if there is energy in me and stuff to be done, I can cram in one more thing... and that's not been working for me. It's time I took control of my self care schedule and start seeing my time at home as sacred, something to be cherished because it's important for my serenity.

This weekend, I focused on gardening. The weather was amazingly beautiful and Benny and I committed to working in the garden together.  We didn't have a garden at all last year and the backyard was overgrown with weeds.  Both days this weekend, we worked together, enjoyed some tunes and tackled a good chunk of our yard. It felt so good to be off the phone and have my hands in the dirt.  When we camped recently, I realized how much I missed the dirt... just feeling the earth on my skin... it does something magical to my spirit. It's peaceful and grounding and oh so relaxing for me.

Watched a documentary last night, Dirt! The Movie and I suddenly had a renewed respect for the ground that brings us life and the food we eat... I am so excited to be back in a garden again this year and I expect this will be part of my meditation each day - piddling in the garden each morning, pulling weeds and tending to our little spot on this pale blue dot.

Week #5 - Getting off my phone is a new thing.

I am loving this. Every week I'm seeing something new and it's so fascinating. Thank you Anjali, for encouraging me to do this and keep a record of it... this weekly exercise keeps me in constant reflection and staying open to the lessons happening all around me and within me. It's crazy wild, sometimes!

Check in from last week:

• All the morning routines are consistent and going well. 10 minutes of meditation is starting to go by in a flash and one morning, I set my alarm for 8 more minutes because I had the time and wanted to keep going.
• Breakfast everyday.
• Bedtime before midnight also going well. Time to start rolling it back.
• "No judgment" is a constant reflection. When I speak, am I adding to the conversation? Is it my ego wanting to interject an opinion? Does it matter or help the situation? When a conversation triggers any emotion inside of me, I notice the urge to want to say something. Why is that? No judgment, only observing. Interesting. Does what I want to say, do or change anything? What is my motive in wanting to say it? Hmm. 

And then I wonder about this here blog... lol... contradiction, much? Well, I guess it would depend on my motive. First, I'm writing this for me. I make it public because I hope it might inspire someone to go after their dreams and take action to shape their life into more of what they want... because anyone can do it. Anjali is helping me on my spiritual journey right now, becoming more in tune with myself and the world and I'm making the changes I want to see in my life. If any of you want to work with Anjali, I highly recommend you contact her for a consult. She is truly amazing.

Anjali Gadre
Inner Bliss Studio, Yoga and Wellness Studio
832-610-5564

On our call this week, Anjali suggested we really focus on my night time routine and examine my whole "I seem to go to bed no earlier than 3 hours after I get home" thing.. if I'm home at 9, I'm in bed at midnight never before, sometimes later. 

Anjali explained to me the Ayurvedic clock, the idea of the three doshas - vata, kapha and pitta - and how they are the cycles of our day. Here's a great blog explaining how they work. This makes so much sense to me... and why I always have a second wind after 10 pm...and wanna eat. I'm back in pitta again. I want to get more in balance on this... cuz right now, I'm kinda outta whack.

The primary focus this week:

• Off the phone completely from 9-10 pm. Don't touch it.

Friday was our call and admittedly, I totally spaced the new exercise Friday night. Almost forgot it again last night, but then something really kinda amazing happened that got my attention... I had a panic attack sitting on my couch.

Long story short, I caught a picture of the new sign going on my food truck - and I was ELATED!!! Extreme joy and excitement exploded inside of me and I was giddy as could be - the logo looked AMAZING! That sign is SO FINE!!!! I loved it so hard... and then I noticed something was off. A pepper was out of place. 

My intense joy, anticipation and excitement turned on me.  It suddenly slammed into a paralyzing fear and anxiousness - OH SHIT, I'VE GOT TO TELL HIM HIS BEAUTIFUL SIGN ISN'T QUITE RIGHT. Oh, nooooooooo. I couldn't breathe, my mind went fuzzy and I had this overwhelming fear and dread... so many thoughts all at once and it was all I could do to keep breathing. I knew I was going to have to say something and I was terrified... I didn't want to hurt his feelings. I didn't want it to cost anyone anymore money. OMG, how much would that cost to redo? Holy shit, I can't believe this, it's so amazing, and I have to tell him something is wrong with it. OH SHIT.  

Needless to say, I was in full panic mode. All the while, this voice in the back of my head kept saying "hey, this isn't the end of the world, just accept this right now and you'll feel better. yes you have to tell him. it will be ok"... and I focused on that voice. Accept this, Courtney, accept it. It is what it is. 

I picked up the phone to text him.. told him how much I loved the sign and eventually said "I hate to say this.. but..." and I explained what was up. Woooooooo let it goooooooooo, Courtney. Woooosaaaaaaaahhhhhhh. 

Zack said he will check it out on Monday and my worry instantly subsided... the voices started saying "hey, it could be an easy fix, think positive thoughts, let it go, let the professional handle it." Yes... I think I will.

I set that panic down and it switched off just as fast as it showed up. CRAZY. I think that was the most bizarre emotional roller coaster I've ever been on and the whole thing happened in about 10 minutes. I am fascinated by this... so much so, I busted out laughing when the fuzz went silent and it was all over... my mind is a powerful thing. Observing emotion is a new thing for me and it's pretty neato, I gotta say..

About this time, I realized it was 9:30 and I immediately told Ben about my new task. My hour of 'no phone' began. This exercise is in alignment with our new relationship vision, too (we are working to write out the whole thing - positive affirmations for our relationship and things we want to create) because one of the things on my list is "we spend quality time together, everyday." This hour of no phone would make the space for us to have that quality time. Benny supported me by staying off his phone, too.

We laughed at all the times during that hour we reached for our phones because we thought to text someone or wanted to check a message or look something up.

I also noticed in that hour how relaxed I became and thought "Anjali, you are so smart - you're getting me to wind down and get that electronic stimulation outta my face when I'm about to be entering pitta and it's time to go to sleep"... and it totally worked. That phone keeps my brain turned on, scrolling Facebook, watching videos, reading articles and blogs... wow. It keeps me up and into pitta and then I'm totally okay with being up until midnight. If I don't get off that phone, it's likely I'd never get to bed any earlier. Although last night, we stayed up and continued talking until midnight and was in bed by 12:30... on a Saturday night? That's a huge improvement. Usually, I'm in bed at 2 am on a Saturday night.

I will keep up the "no phone from 9-10 pm" and spend that hour with Benny.
Quality time.  It's what I want, so... I think I'll make that happen. :)