Champion Challenge “Make Changes Not Excuses!”

Hey Friends! If this is your first time to my blog page Welcome! I hope this post finds all of you with Peace upon you, around you and especially within you!

How was everyone’s holiday weekend? Here we chilled had two days full of family and delicious food. We also did some gardening.

Quick update: our experimental garden has officially sprouted. We are still waiting on the rhubarb to sprout but they are working hard and will sprout up soon. Just look at them aren’t they precious.

Our other side of the garden where we did not start everything from seeds is still thriving. We had a few days of frost and it burned two of the peppers but they are already making a come back.

We are trying our hand at some Electroculture in our experimental garden and we did add some copper wiring wrapped around a stick of Bamboo. Its benefits are pretty cool.

By placing the copper wire wrapped around the stick it acts like an antenna to collect atmospheric energy and direct it down into the soil. All you need is some copper wire and a stick.

Copper is also a natural fungicide and insecticide. The presence of copper can repel slugs, snails and other harmful pests. I think that’s pretty cool.

We noticed new sprouts the very next day. It can be they were going to sprout anyway but I will definitely keep you updated on the progress.

Our watermelon seeds have started sprouting. You guys were right, I just needed to be patient and let them do their thing.

We have garlic in pots everywhere and in the field. We have our berry bushes planted thanks to my husband who worked so diligently to plant them all.

The yard is full of dandelions and Margarita flowers. It looks like a magical fairyland. I would have loved this place when I was a little girl.

It would have been my fairy wonderland full of magical creatures and adventures. If any one was looking for me you could find me in the fields full of flowers.

Do ya’ll remember the show Gang Land? Well we have our own live version of Bird Gang Land going on here in our yard.

These birds do not play around and have no issues letting the other birds know who owns this block. As cute as they are they are also stone cold bad asses.

At our house we have some Pigeon birds in Italian they are called ” Piccione”. We also have a few resident black birds ” Uccello Nero.”

I have also spotted a lot of large Pheasants ” Fagiano” around especially around the grape vines.

We have Some White Storks, ” Cicogne ” Magpies ” Gazze ” Falcons ” Falchi ” and Owls ” Gufi ” around just to name a few.

When a new bird lands in the yard, they do not try to get to know the other bird or anything. They imediatly choose violence.

One of them sounds the alarm that there is someone on their territory that doesn’t belong there.

Then the big boys come flying in and let it be known that they were not welcome here. They show no mercy until the other bird leaves.

Elvis is respected by all who enters his territory. The neighbors, the bees, even the neighborhood dogs know not to mess with Elvis. The birds however are a different story.

He has an ongoing battle of the wills between him and the birds. They both drink out of each others water bowls.

One side shows disrespect and drinks out of the others bowl. It is disgusting but this is what they do. Take a look at exhibit A and B as evidence.

Elvis will feel so disrespected and get so upset that he will go drink out of their bird bath and then guard it for hours. Then the birds get their revenge and the drama continues to this very day.

We really see no end in sight as each side continues to be disrespectful, hold grudges and carry on this ugly feud.:)

Our weekend was full eating delicious food. I mean look at those dishes. The Brasato was cooked outside in the oven with a wood fire in that amazing pot.

My husband can do magical things in any kitchen inside , outside over open fire, on a grill it does not matter . He definitely handles his business. Makes me so proud.

This morning we started per usual waking up giving our Thanks, starting our coffee, giving Elvis his morning love along with his breakfast and saying buongiorno as everyone woke up.

We did have our beet smoothie and all I am going to say is I’am not going to complain about the dirt taste anymore. It benefits our bodies and done deal.

It truly does give me an energy boost that helps me get through my work out. We gave each other a kiss and started our Champion stuff.

Continuing on with ” Scary hour” I did my lunges, crunches, and arm exercises after stretching first. Then I completed the rest of my work out.

I struggle to be consistent with these, so my thinking is if I get them out of the way first the rest is smooth sailing.

After my work out I did the usual clean up and get ready for the day. Blog and work related tasks. Then I watered the outside plants which is one of my favorite things to do.

Which leads me to today food for thought and leads us to a new Champion Challenge.. Buckle up Buttercups things are about to get interesting.

We are like Seeds

Gardening has had me thinking.. It all sounds so easy when we say we are planting seeds. Put the seed in the dirt, water it, it grows and so on.

However a lot plays into whether the seeds grow or not. The soil is more then just dirt. Soil is alive with it’sown interactive microorganisms, nutrients, worms, water and organic matter.

Environment plays a big factor if the seeds are going to sprout or not just like us humans.

Seeds are legit fighting for their little lives just to break out of the soil into the light. Once they break free from the dark soil and can feel the warmth of the sun the battle of survival and growth does not stop there.

Now that they out of the soil they face different battles. Weather, insects, storms, frost, weeds that are trying to steal their light and animals. Sound familiar?…

” The tiny seed knew that in order to grow, it needed to be dropped in dirt, covered in darkness, and struggle to reach the light.”

Sandra Kring

Things were not easy for the seeds and things are not easy for us but once we reach the light. Once we start to feel the warmth of the sun and the moisture from the rain.

We start to bloom and blossom. Thriving and continuosly growing and even though we are still fighting for our lives we are also little miracles to behold. Just like seeds.

Make Changes Not Excuses!

What if we had the opportunity to start fresh, learning from past mistakes, to be the version of ourselves that we want to be. Would we take it?

In the wise words of Eminem

” Look, If you had one shot, or one opportunity. To seize everything you ever wanted in one moment. Would you capture it or let it slip?”

Eminem

The truth is we all get this opportunity every day when we wake up. The question we need to ask ourselves is are we going to seize the day, seize the opportunity?

The other truth is that we can choose to start over. I understand that this sounds like such crap when we are in the thick of things. Been there…big hugs!

It is hard to stop make excuses for ourselves, pull ourselves back up AGAIN and handle what we need to handle.

Yet …this is the juice of it …each day we wake up is a brand new day. We can choose to do better today. Does that mean we are going to wake up each day to rainbows and unicorns? Absolutely no!

Honestly once you stop making excuses for ourselves and just do it like Nike says, things get kinda tough at first.

Because now that we are not making excuses anymore we have to face the fact that we just might become SUCCESSFUL in our craft. I know..deep breaths in and out..we got this!

Letting go of our past selves, letting go of our past resentments. Forgiving others and forgiving ourselves.

We cant make way for a new better version of ourselves if we are still holding on to the old version. We can’t forgive if we are still holding on to the anger and resentment.

So the real question is what are we going to do today that helps us to get to where we want to be in the future? There is no magic wand to wave. This is something that we are going to have to strive for.

I have been adopting this thought process for myself and as with everything it takes practice. Especially for me because honestly I was good at making excuses.

I could be being consistent and on a roll and just one day out of the blue I let my excuses get the best of me and I will have a day of snacking, not working out and just nonsense.

That day turns into two days and then three days and before I know it I feel like a big sack of sh*t and like my excuses have taken over my life and I have to start again.

Let’s take all our excuses put them in a box and throw them away because we don’t need them anymore. We may still want them from time to time but we do not NEED them. Go ahead…throw them all away!

Let’s start taking responsibility for our own lives. We are going to shake things up a little bit around here by doing a challenge that will help us to rededicate ourselves.

75 Soft Challenge

There is this challenge called the 75 Hard challenge and it sounded interesting except …They say that 95% of people who have tried have failed.

For me the fact 95% of people who have tried have failed is just a little bit intimidating.

Here are the rules for the 75 Hard Challenge:

#1 Take a selfie because they say we will be unrecognizable by the end of the 75 days.

#2 Drink a gallon of water a day. This is one of the hardest things to do but it helps to build dicipline.

#3 Read 10 pages a day of an actual book no audio books. A book that inspires you or helps your craft in some way.

#4 Follow a Healthy meal plan of your choice. No cheat meals, no cheat days and no alcohol.

#5 Work out 45 minutes two times a day. One of these 45 minute work outs must be outside no matter the weather. We have to go in the rain, heat, snow whatever.

I mean 95% that’s a pretty high number and kinda unsustainable in the long run. However I do really like the concept so I decided to first do the 75 Soft Challenge.

75 Soft Challenge has the same concept but it is a more achievable version of it.

Here are the rules for the 75 Soft challenge:

#1. We still take a selfie to show our progress.

#2. Drink 3 Liters of water a day instead of the 4 liters.

#3. We are still reading 10 pages of a actual book. No audio

#4. We are still sticking to our healthy meal plans but once a week if we choose we can have a cheat meal and drink alcohol on special occassions.

#5. We work out 45 minutes once a day instead of twice.

This challenge is a mental challenge. My hopes are it will be the push we need to stop listening to our excuses and start pushing ourselves towards a better version of ourselves.

Let’s be brave… Let’s see what we can become. If we have hidden ourselves because we are scared others will not be able to handle our shine… I say Let’s SHINE anyways.

No matter what we do someone is going to have something to say about it so let’s give them something to really talk about!

Let me know if you choose the 75 hard challenge or the 75 soft challenge or if you just say “forget about it” and choose none at all.

Remember this is a mental strength challenge by doing this we are creating healthier habits in these 75 days.

For those who haven’t worked out in years, it’s ok start slowly at your own pace. But START! I promise you that once you start you will feel so proud and good.

For those of you who have been working out for awhile keep going! Remember to keep your workouts in a more sustainable routine. Take it a little bit more easy 6 days a week for 75 days is pretty intense.