Danish hot chocolate
Five years after being diagnosed with fructose malabsorption, I don’t think it about it on a nearly hourly basis. I really don’t think about it too often in general anymore, we read labels all the time, but I don’t actively think of myself as having a disease or condition anymore. Especially when I’m not sick very often I forget there are consequences. I was diagnosed when the research was still so very new and given almost no information. I try to keep up with information when I think about it (usually after a round of being sick). Lately I’ve had a few more health problems and went to the doctor, I turned out to be B-12 deficient. This is the direct result of my malabsorption and it felt like a big reminder that just because I’m not sick doesn’t mean I’m healthy. It sucks to have to take extra vitamins. I eat a wide variety of healthy foods and theoretically I shouldn’t need them. But, because of the malabsorption I take a multivitamin and iron and now have to add B-12. It is sometimes very frustrating. Also, the newest research indicates that I should be avoiding wheat (just wheat not gluten) and that makes me sad.
How you get rid of your tree in Stockholm
FYI these are NOT candy canes. They have an unidentifiable flavor that is decidedly not peppermint
I borrowed from Rachel Wilkerson’s idea that a verb is better than a resolution. I chose practice, because most of what I want to accomplish will require a lot of practice on my part. I’ll use practice as a mantra, especially when I’m struggling with practicing the tasks that will lead to my goals.
I wanted more specific goals to work towards, so after I did some mind-mapping of areas I wanted to improve, I chose a few SMART goals for some different categories.
Here are my 2012 goals:
Organization: Have the house always be ready for visitors at any time.
Swedish: Attain conversational speaking ability
Money: Save a specific amount per month.
Friends: Make 6 new good friends
Health: Weigh < 130lb (59kg), Body Fat % < 25% and no anemia or major stomach incidents.
Based on what I’ve read from Willpower and the Happiness Project, I’ll be tackling only a few new activities each month. Changing my habits slowly should lead to longer lasting change.
For January, I’ll be adding these tasks:
Exercise/Move 45 min/day
Record Food daily
Record expenses weekly
Wash dishes after each meal
Watch 1 hr Swedish tv/day
And my reward will be a new robe at the end of January.
Brainstorming for 2012 goals