Why I Like Resolutions

Lots of people don't like making resolutions.  To them, it seems silly to choose one day to make changes.  I feel differently about it.  To pick one day means I have plenty of time to really ruminate on the intention, prepare in whatever way is necessary, and sort of re-set my mind.
This year there were several.  Two of them went hand in hand.
One was to get back to the eating habits that were started last year and stuck for 6 months.  The goal is to keep them longer, hopefully forever.
Another was to spend less time on the computer, less time on social media, and the time that is spent on the computer will be working or writing.
They are working very well together!  Eating healthier foods mean that there is a bit more prep time - so automatically there is less time for sitting and scrolling.  In turn, there is more energy.  Good deal all around.
Here are a few of the things I've been up to just this past few days...
The eating plan involves no wheat (and limited grains), no high-fructose corn syrup and very little sugar, no processed foods - so while last year I had some breakfast cereal occasionally, that's off the table this year.  I found a blend of amaranth, quinoa, and wild MN rice to which I've added pumpkin seeds, broken pecans, cranberries, and thinly sliced fermented lemons.  This does NOT feel like a sacrifice!

Cleaning out the fridge to make room for all the good fresh foods, resulted in finding not one, but 2 jars with kombucha scobies, so I'm attempting to revive them.  3 days in it isn't looking promising, but at least I'll know.  Making a new one from a purchased jar of the beverage is a simple procedure, and the space in the fridge is freed up.

Yesterday afternoon I went on a search for turkey tail mushrooms.  The offer of a swap for some chaga got me moving, and it was a good excuse to go tromping around in the woods.  It felt wonderful.  As an aside, apparently the deer in our woods have a special place to use as their bathroom.  A space about the size of my living room and dining room was just covered with deer poop, and it was about the only place I saw it.  It was really surprising - and the first time I've ever smelled deer poop in the woods,
Anyway, I got home with a large nearly-full market basket of many different colors of beautiful mushrooms.

 After weighing out the agreed upon amount and setting them aside, I got to work cleaning them.  It was a little tedious, but interesting in that the mushrooms grow around stems and sticks that climb through them.  The layers need to be separated so that any debris can be cleared.  When they were all cleaned, they were snipped into thin strips and then went into a warm (set as low as possible - 120 f here) oven for a few hours to dry up the dampness.  The processed mushrooms wound up being slightly less than a quart.
Turkey tail mushrooms are used in some Asian countries for many cancers and studies have found it to be a wonderful anti-viral, great for immunity, and a valuable medicinal mushroom in many ways.  Here is a good link that talks about some of the research.

A great day walking in the woods, away from the computer, and then getting to work with the gathered mushrooms - it doesn't get much better than that.  Towards nightfall, a very strong tea of the mushrooms was the reward.  Thinking that it needs a little zip, though.  Maybe a bit of elderberry and some ginger!
So that's part of why I like resolutions.  Change is fun.