Pumpkin Challenge: Day 1 (Introduction)

Welcome to my 3rd (4th?) annual Pumpkin Challenge!

You are invited to join me in the documentation of a challenge that I have taken on since it was proposed to me by a friend many moons ago - the Pumpkin Challenge. For the month of October, I will endeavour to consume one item that contains pumpkin in some way; it could be a beverage, a baked good, a specialty tea, an ice cream, a butter, or - inevitably as past years have shown me - sushi! 

Today marks the first day of the challenge, and as it is the first week of midterms for me, I decided to indulge in a slightly-caffeinated and warm treat for a cold, windy day: A chai-pumpkin-almond-milk latte with cinnamon. Simple, sweet, and cozy on a day where my mental strength is both at its most determined and most fragile - two days before two midterms, and this seemed like a simple way to warm up my body while also cooling down an overheated brain.

 

 

Yes, those are adorable little lady bugs crawling up the side of - no, you are not mistaken - a tea-cup cozy! Courtesy of my grandma.

They were justified in wanting to be a part of the magic that is the Pumpkin Challenge.

YOU, TOO, can be a part of the magic! Feel free to join me starting at any point, or take one day to indulge in a pumpkiny treat with me, or take on the month-long challenge for yourself!

Continue to check back for more pumpkin updates as the month goes on!

The treats will also be viewable on Instagram,

along with the October Green Smoothie Challenge.

Blog Update: Time to Streamline

Through the beginning of my blogging journey, I have enjoyed documenting a variety of topics: My trips, the restaurants I've visited, events I've attended, and personal goals and planning (with ideas for others included).

I am passionate about my photography and my fitness and my food adventures, and I want those to all be aspects of this blog - however, I've decided that they need to be streamlined topics. Thus far, I have been clumping all of my subject matter together, and I believe that a more structured post format will result in

• Shorter entries (more appealing to read and look at)
• More easily-searched for topics (food, photography, organizational tips)
• A more frequently-updated blog!

It will take some figuring out, but in the next few weeks I hope to see my posts become more organized in the way I am trying to organize the rest of my life (which has been going well so far!).

Until then,

The First 6 Weeks

It has been a turbulent few weeks for me as the school year has begun to gain momentum. I've struggled with adjusting to my new roles, likely as a result of the requirements laid out by some commitments that required completion within one or two weeks of the year kicking off. While I know that a deadline means that completion will come eventually, it has been difficult to see beyond those deadlines at times; however, some have passed, and I am able to feel the ability to manage my life returning to me.

The first six weeks of being at school is a time of transition and readjustment for all; but those weeks are outlined as a particularly critical period for residents and the residence advisors, because those six weeks will set the 'tone' for the rest of the year.

Amidst the requirements of my positions, I have some personal goals for the first six weeks:

1. Schedule my hours until my routine develops.
   I have been struggling with finding the motivation to sit down and establish my study routine, and I believe that some structured study time - as informed by a calendar schedule to-be arranged - will help me return to a natural study rhythm. Additionally, time for my extracurricular requirements will be structured around that time to ensure that I don't forget about them.
2. Be conscientious of my eating habits.
   Throughout my health journey over the past two years, I have become much more aware of the way my body feels and performs in response to consuming certain things. During my stresses and anxieties of the first few weeks of school, I have acknowledged my body's cravings and responses - and promptly ignored them several times. My eating habits are far from the horrors they could be, but when I eat a primarily vegan diet, exercise daily, and have spent months making my body accustomed to a certain "cleanliness" of diet - my body desires good things, and responds poorly to my neglect of it.
   I need to eat meals that fill me with fibre, protein, and enough carbs to keep me mentally active. My snacks should be primarily clean ones with minimal "fake" components (for example, not indulging too often in my love of Mio-enhanced water). Fluids are a must, and will ideally be a nearly-even split between tea and regular water.
3. Plan ahead.
   It has become apparent that if I am planning ahead, my life is generally in a manageable state. My thoughts are that if I plan ahead regardless of my life's manageability, I will produce a manageable state! At least a little. It will give me more opportunities to see what is ahead, and at least not be totally caught off guard by obligations and events that are coming up.
   - Calendars
   - Day planners
   - Looking at class schedules

With these simple strategies, I think I will find the remaining 3/6 weeks will come to a more peaceful and less chaotic close than the first 3/6 weeks have passed by in a flurry of.

Here's to hoping!