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Setting Summer 2015 Goals

Wow! When I realized that it was time to start thinking about some goals for the upcoming summer season it came to my attention that I hadn’t set any goals for spring! This winter was quite hard on me…so many dreary days and so much cold. So when spring arrived I felt instantly energized and ready go. I never stopped and thought to write down some objectives!

Setting goals, whether you are dealing with a long term illness, caregiving for a loved one, or dealing with cancer as a young adult, is a healthy way to evaluate the small things you can do to improve your day-to-day life. Did you all set some spring goals? Have you revisited them and decided to set summer 2015 goals too?

If you’re interested, these were my 2014 Summer goals, my goals for Fall 2014, and Winter 2014-2015. Feel free to share yours with us! When I first talked about my goals for the summer, and then my goals for the fall, I had visions of daily walks where I didn’t need to force myself out the door, dinners filled with enticing and wonderfully healthy vegetables, meditation expanding my mind’s eye, and so much more. Now that fall has come and almost gone, it is time to look at those goals, decide how well they were accomplished, and to readjust for the coming new season.

Mallory’s Goals for the Winter were…

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[list_item]take more real pictures.[/list_item]
UPDATE: nope 🙂

[list_item]~~bake yummy things.~~[/list_item]
UPDATE: Check! Maybe not everything was baked but I definitely baked and cooked more things! I’ve made smoothies, applesauce, chocolate chip cookies, cinnamon cream cheese banana cupcakes (though I think I counted these in my fall goals?), chocolate pudding cake, crepes, waffles, triple berry pancakes, a french toast casserole, a hashbrown potato and egg bake, and a few more!

[list_item]~~continue growing Lacuna Loft.~~[/list_item]
UPDATE: Yep! We are now a not for profit corporation in the State of California and have filed for our federal tax exempt status! 501(c)3, here we come! We have some great collaborations coming in the next few weeks, the board is finding its feet and planning our first fundraising and strategy push, and so much more!

[list_item]~~move every day.~~[/list_item]
UPDATE: Always a process! This was going so well for a while there, and then I was hit with weddings, conferences, bridal parties & showers, extra dog sitting, and more weddings. Back on the wagon again though!

[list_item]eat fewer sweets.[/list_item]
UPDATE: Not sure I paid enough attention to this… I think I ate fewer sweets overall but not because I actually made any steps to make my pantry and fridge healthier places. I think my grocery visits need to be more frequent and I need to pay more attention to having a mostly stocked pantry with healthy choices.

[list_item]~~explore meditation.~~[/list_item]
UPDATE: I have now tried meditating! Hasn’t become a daily or weekly practice at all, but I like what I’ve tried so far! I will share on the blog in the next few months!

[list_item]~~play with my pups.~~[/list_item]
UPDATE: YES! Love those two!

[list_item]~~hike in the snow.~~[/list_item]
UPDATE: Does walking around the neighborhood count? 🙂

[list_item]~~make more things.~~[/list_item]
UPDATE: Oh my…so many projects! My husband and I started making an ottoman and I finished a quilt for my sister and brother in law’s wedding! Over the winter I also made snowman pillows, an embroidery floss belt, and an eye mask.

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Ok! Time for setting summer 2015 goals!

Mallory’s Summer 2015 Goals!:

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[list_item]get Lacuna Loft all ready to move to Northern California.[/list_item]
There are still some forms and logistics that need to be taken care of before moving to Northern California at the end of the summer.

[list_item]bake yummy things.[/list_item]
I (STILL! STILL!) specifically want to make some macaroons!

[list_item]channel the tortoise while packing this summer.[/list_item]
Slow and steady wins the race!

[list_item]move every day.[/list_item]
Dog walks, dog runs, yoga, swimming, you name it. I want to stop working and make some space to sweat and move every day. I’m going on a canoe trip later this summer and need to get my arms ready!

[list_item]grocery shop with more intention.[/list_item]
I’ll eat healthy things if I buy healthy things…but I seem to run out of those fruits and veggies so quickly! I’d like to start shopping with more intention towards making healthy food choices all week long. Just picked up some brussels sprouts the other day…I’m excited to try cooking them tonight!

[list_item]explore meditation.[/list_item]
Yes…I still (STILL! STILL) really really want to explore meditation further. Hopefully we will have some posts about it here in the near future. Anyone have any pointers to provide?

[list_item]make more things.[/list_item]
I have some crafts that need to be finished before moving. The list is growing!
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When do you decide to set goals? Do you set them for a season or for a year? Setting summer 2015 goals is a great way to focus in on a shorter amount of time. Warm weather and sun…can’t go wrong!

Tough As Nails

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed with being human. Our existence can seem so fragile and I find myself obsessing about what I could lose next. Having young adult cancer and losing a parent to cancer as a young adult can do that to a person…one day the world changes so drastically that one can forget how life ever seemed so simple before.

How do you put yourself back on your feet when you’ve become out of sorts with the world? I tend to look to music, tv/movies, or books to help. I’m currently reading the Divergent series. The dystopian world of loss, confusion, and courage was so easy for me to connect with that I felt myself drawing more and more into the books as I continued reading. The ideals of being brave and learning to live with life’s fears were powerful to me recently as I paced through my house checking, rechecking, and checking another time whether I had considered everything that could catch on fire while I was gone.

“Do I look like I’ve been crying”…

“No…You look tough as nails.”

– Divergent, Veronica Roth

Remembering the ways in which I am courageous and tough as nails is sometimes helpful…and yet really the next lesson to learn is how to embrace the hurt and the pain until it passes. Instead of being annoyed and exasperated with feeling the grief and the fright, I wish to be able to sit with it, being understanding and compassionate with myself…being able to trust that I am tough as nails regardless of the anxieties that enter and leave my existence. These moments of grief and hardship will come and go, into survivorship. I’ve seen that be true for myself as well as other survivors I have come across.

Do you have a hard time remembering that as a young adult cancer survivor you are tough as nails? What helps you to remember?

bravery caregiver courage motivation patient survivor

Songs For Hard Times

You know, when you’re sad, or scared, or lonely…you find that one song and it become this anthem of your struggle? My most recent song to get me through a tough time is by Phillip Phillips, Gone Gone Gone.

What songs do you use when you’re feeling down? Maybe you need some good pysch up music for a doctor’s appointment or treatment session…maybe you need some relaxing music when you’re having a down moment…or something supportive for when you’re needing a shoulder to lean on. Let us know! Share in the comments or by emailing info(at)lacunaloft(dot)com and we’ll make a play list to suggest to other young adult cancer survivors!

P.S. This one gets played on repeat too…

caregiver motivation patient songs survivor

Being Darn Tough

The summer is almost gone! Summer goals are wrapping up (we will revisit those) and school is starting. Much of the blogosphere is getting ready to enter into the fall groove. Entering into any groove when you are dealing with young adult cancer or a long term illness is hard though! Your peer group goes one way…and you can feel oh-so-stuck going a different way. Jealousy, isolation, sadness, anxiety…these are all feelings that are hard to contend with and difficult to trudge through but they are reasonable and rational feelings to experience when confronted by life-changing circumstances.

I find motivational quotes to be really helpful in staying true and tough…which is probably apparent from the multitude of motivational quotes that have found their way into Lacuna Loft pieces….like here, here, here, here, and here 🙂

Motivational quotes are fine and dandy but taking small steps, even itsy-bitsy steps, to find happiness, love, and the mindset of being darn tough to face your challenges head on is really important. Don’t be too hard on yourself when the energy to get up and make a change just doesn’t feel available…but little by little we can all make our lives live-able and even great by altering our perception and attitude. Take a walk, call a friend, make something, write a letter to yourself or someone else…these are all ways that could help you take charge and stay tough when life is hard.

Having a motto (probably goes along with my love of motivational quotes) helps me find that extra boost when I just don’t want to take action…even when I know that I will feel better if I do. All year, my motto has been Darn Tough. I even have a lovely pair of cozy socks sporting the same phrase.

What actions help you to feel better when life is weighing you down? Do you have a motto or a phrase or a motivational quote that helps?

Here’s to being Darn Tough!

caregiver motivation patient survivor

Survivorship: A Journey Forward

When I entered the stage we call “survivorship” I was having trouble figuring out what was next. How soon will I feel better? Do I go back to work? When is my next PET scan? Will my cancer grow back? When will I be able to eat normally again? These, and many other questions, clouded my brain. I found that the “quotes” section of Pinterest was a good source for inspiration to keep my mind at peace.

As simple as it sounds, I learned a few things about moving forward from these quotes. One particular important piece of knowledge I gained was that you must take things one step at a time. Figuring out “what’s next” on your journey is difficult! When it feels like things are completely overwhelming, remember that continuing forward starts with a single step. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Celebrate the little victories. Always remember that you are brave. You are a survivor. And you will get through this.

Here are some of my favorite images I’ve found that bring me peace on my journey. Feel free to follow my Pinterest board for more – and create your own board to inspire your journey forward!

via

Do you have any favorite sources of inspiration? Do you have any favorite places to find inspirational quotes? Share them with us! For other posts we’ve shared on inspirational quotes go here

top image via

motivation patient survivor

A Beautiful Message From Colbie Caillat

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A good friend sent me the link to this video recently and I have not stopped listening to it. The feel good and beautiful message from Colbie Caillat is that it’s not about the makeup and the hair and the nails and the clothes and the body shape. We talk a bit about many of these things here at Lacuna Loft in an effort to take control over our lives while difficult things beyond our control are happening…but life isn’t just about how we look. And how we look can only take how we feel so far. The main question that she poses is Do you like you? ….

You don’t have to try so hard. You don’t have to give it all away. You just have to get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. You don’t have to change a single thing. You don’t have to try, try, try, try…

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caregiver colbie caillat motivation patient songs survivor

Motivational Desktops

Learning how to be a survivor, or going through that which needed surviving…those are tough times in life. As I continue living through survivorship, little motivational happy thoughts really help me re-correct my outlook on something if I seem to be straying into negative musings. I like the continual, gentle reminders that life is tough, but we are here to survive….and that even through the tough times, life can be very beautiful. What kind of reminders do you like to keep your outlook on life as positive and happy as possible? I, for one, love a good motivational poster 🙂

Brit.co is a website with great projects, designs, and recipes that I go to every so often. Recently they had an article about 20 motivational desktop backgrounds that were also free! I LOVE motivational stuff so I had to check it out. I looked through the post and loved what I saw. I ended up downloading quite a few of the wallpapers and have them as my computer’s desktop background in a slideshow format so that the poster switches every minute to another one. 🙂

I think I may print one or two of the posters for office art. Do you all like motivational posters hanging around your working or living space? Do you put motivational desktop backgrounds on your computer?

These are some of my favorites:

via – by Breanna Rose