I haven’t worn contacts since last September, and no, I didn’t have laser eye surgery.
I merely went back to wearing glasses.
According to my friend G; there’s never been a better time to wear glasses…

These pictures are from November when I first got the Jawbone UP, back then there was so much keenness to try this little bracelet.
I didn’t mind that I had to go all the way to Mount Vernon to get mine because the at&t store in Bellingham was sold out of the UP that morning.
The UP is basically a cool little wristband step-counter and sleep tracker that syncs with the Jawbone iPhone app and displays data in a user-friendly graph .

According to Jawbone,

UP™ by Jawbone® is the combination of a wristband and iPhone® app that tracks your activity and sleep and inspires you to move more, sleep better and eat smarter.

As a self-proclaimed lover of ‘shiny new things,’ I took to the UP quickly and loved how unobtrusive and easy it was to use.
I’ve never been focused on tracking my fitness activity before; sure, I turn on my running app when I go running, but I’ve never tried to figure out overall how much I move in a day.
The band has three activity settings, regular, active and sleep. Active is for when you’re exercising.
I keep mine in regular mode most of the time except for when I’m sleeping. I thought I walked a lot, but wearing the UP put it in perspective.
I could do better, in fact I’ve made a few changes since I started wearing the band; I take the stairs, I try to take little walks during the day, I generally try to move more, and that’s what the UP aims to do.
I love the little buzzes (reminders) that remind me if I haven’t moved in two hours.
The sleep tracker is fairly helpful, it tracks sleep cycle, and shows light and deep sleep.
It has a built-in alarm clock that gently rouses you from sleep…
I find using the meal tracker a little cumbersome, same for finding friends who have the UP so I don’t use these features.

The UP isn’t without issues, I’m on my second device – the first had battery issues, couldn’t sustain a charge past a day, and then one day it died.
The replacement works perfectly so far, but I’m not sure how long that would last.
In fact the UP has been bogged down with so much hardware issues that Jawbone has a ‘No questions asked guarantee’ refund
Still, I love my UP, it’s helped me make some little lifestyle changes, I try to walk more, I’m horrified at how poorly I sleep and trying to work on it.

I forget how cruel spring is usually to me in the beginning.
Being allergic to tree pollen, and living within this blooming lush colourful ‘jungle’ of pollen-producing trees is a little like paradise turning hellish – but just a little.
Thankfully I don’t have to endure this forever, just a few more weeks.
The trees coming back to life… priceless

I suspect my immune system has done battle and won (Ha! Winning!)
This is pretty amazing because for the first time in about a week, I feel fine.

I took time off at the start of last week because I was feeling crappy.
And I’ve felt that crappy since then, I’ve had a tension-type headache, a cough so slight and intermittent, a nearly sore throat that lasted a day and weird yearnings for siesta.
Usually these are all signs that I’m about to get very sick, but this time I felt I was on the cusp of illness for about a week and then I recovered.

Outfit details: Jacket – Collective Clothing | Blouse – Gap | Pants – Uniqlo | Rain boots – Benetton | Scarf – H&M

I’m not complaining, this is actually a congratulatory note to my immune system – must be all that healthy living.
I’ve been pretty good about taking my vitamin C supplements too, I swear by vitamin C – I’m not even sure where I stand on the great vitamin C debate, but I think there’s something there.

I really like the effervescent kind…

It’s going to be a quiet and hopefully sunshine-filled weekend for me.
Everyone around me is sick and I feel like I’m coming down with something.
I don’t have the dreaded scratchy throat yet, but I’ve had a few unusual sneezes.
And I’m tired, but that’s probably from lack of sleep.
I’ve gone to bed consistently late this week, I went to bed at 1:00AM last night; I blame it on the holidays.
Next week’s intent is to get to bed early.
Tomorrow, I’ll sleep in…

I’ll read some old favourites and a cookbook; and maybe make something sweet from said cookbook.

I’ll eat the just-in-case-I-get-sick soup, well… maybe even if I’m not sick – soup heals the soul.<,br/>
There’s rice and beluga lentils (that’s like caviar in vegetariana!) in yummy tomato and olive oil  broth.

I’ll paint my nails the colour of plums.

And take down the Christmas tree and decorations, albeit reluctantly – I still can’t believe the holidays are over!

And If I’m feeling up to it, I’ll hang out with the little guys and we’ll paint something magnificent.