What are you NOT doing in 2017 that you did a

[LynnO]

In 2017, I'm going to stop ignoring my chronic ankle/foot pain, that I assumed would magically go away. It is getting worse and I'm missing out on activities I love, hiking, cross country skiing, snow shoeing, any lateral impact (and on and on.) And the muscular imbalance is giving me all kinds of problems.

[Vintage VFer]

Originally Posted by Pat58

Good luck - let us know how it goes. The PT program I'm on now is a grueling regimen focused on the glutes, hips, spinal rotators and core. It's like doing Mari's Buns & Thighs 3X a day and add Brazil Butt Lift. I'm hoping to at least get a tankini butt out of it.

I hope you are throwing in a few rest days. That does sound grueling!

[momofcha]

Originally Posted by Aunt Famous

I have enjoyed reading everyone's answers.

In 2017, I hope to get genuinely comfortable with how I train. I gained eight pounds overnight this year (shout out to aging!), and I occasionally panic and reach for high intensity workouts, which lead to aches and injury. I want to divorce weight from health and continue to do, without doubting, what I really enjoy. I need to tap into the joy of this morning, where I did 30 minutes of modern dance and 30 minutes of a yoga/balance/stretch/strength DVD. I felt so happy and content. I need to remind myself that that is what I'm after, not having the now-impossible body of a 20 something (which, I might add, I did not appreciate when I had it).

Writing is also good for my health since it helps me process things. I started blogging two years ago. I would like to take my writing up a level, and possibly work on a book. Like the workout goal, this requires a certain degree of confidence and courage to get comfortable with what I should -- and want -- to do.

I just want to grow into myself. The best version of myself. To embrace that I am a late bloomer. And to bloom like crazy.

xoxoxo,

AF

Check out my blog at www.typeALC.com

I always love your posts. I want to bloom like crazy too!

I recently discovered pilates and I must say - struggling with hashimoto's this has helped immensely with my energy and weight is still up in the air. I just feel good with these workouts and enjoy them.

So I guess what I am NOT doing is anything intense. I'm taking it down a notch and focusing on essentrics and pilates.

Check out the VF Roost as I am going to majorly purge!

[BunnyHop]

Originally Posted by Aunt Famous

...

I just want to grow into myself. The best version of myself. To embrace that I am a late bloomer. And to bloom like crazy.

...

I love this plan!

In 2016, my hormones went wacky but neither my doctor nor I realized that I should be doing something different til I figured out that the fatigue I was experiencing was at least partly related to a potassium deficiency. (Probably from hormone related sweatiness, sigh) Sorted that out, but not before I regained all the weight I lost last winter. After that? Stupid head cold that left me with a lingering cough. At least I slept well for about a month, even if it was cough syrup induced.

On the plus side, I'm back on track and have new workouts from some of my favorite instructors to look forward to.

On the more contemplative side of things, I've been exploring Tarot a bit, as part of my meditation practice. Picking a card every day and learning about it and thinking through whatever random thoughts it inspires has really been good for me. I've got some Tarot books and have been reading about the various ways different people interpret the cards. Its' been a fascinating way to see how other people's imaginations work (i.e., completely differently than my own). I've kept kind of a journal and plan to keep brainstorming with tarot inspirations. It's a great way to think through some persistent botherations.

I can't solve the problems, but I can change the way I think about them.

[GinaXOXO]

Originally Posted by rhbrand

What I'm not doing in 2017 that I did this year.

I'm NOT going to worry about "losing weight" Forget it.

I'm going to focus on getting fit. I'm going to train to get fit. To run longer, and faster. To deadlift a heavier weight. To manage a handstand pushup. To manage pullups.

I want to be that fit person and to hell with being skinny or only working out to see"results" I will train to be a fitter version of myself.

I love this! I think you're right. I've been thinking along these lines. I get frustrated that it isn't working (making me thin) and need to quit focusing on size/weight results and focus on feeling better and moving better.

Longer is not better, harder is not necessary, pushing too hard is counterproductive. So, in 2017 I am going to be gentler and enjoy my workouts.

[SueT]

Anna, which books on tarot cards would you suggest? I love your idea of picking one card a day and learning about it!

Thanks,
Sue

[Eibhinn]

In 2017 I'm not going to get caught up in preparing or planning my workouts, and am going to focus on, well, just working out.

I read something the other day that said something to the effect that you should workout like you are whatever you want to be. Like, if you want to become a sprinter, start sprinting, don't start trying to lose weight so that you can be a sprinter. I definitely find myself putting off doing the activities I really want to do by planning out a perfect program, particularly a perfect program for preparing my body to do what it is I want to do.

So next year I'm going to get back doing kettlebells, rather than strengthening my back and core a bit more to prepare to do kettlebells. And I'm going to learn modern dance by learning modern dance, not ballet in preparation, or stretching and strength programs in preparation. Modern dancing by modern dancing. I feel dumb even saying this, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who over-thinks everything.

[BunnyHop]

Originally Posted by SueT

Anna, which books on tarot cards would you suggest? I love your idea of picking one card a day and learning about it!

Thanks,
Sue

I'm gonna ramble a bit, because I got a bit obsessed this year learned a lot, but I've had fun doing all this reading, so you can benefit from my newbie's experience.

Definitely take a look at Aeclectic Tarot's forums and website, for lots of pictures, descriptions and discussion of books and decks. I've never signed on to the forums so I don't know much of anything about what goes on in the members only areas of the forum.

My favorite tarot deck (and book) is one of the less traditional ones called The Wild Unknown by Kim Krans. The artwork just really appeals to me, but then again, I've always liked that black and white line drawing style. (Love books illustrated that way!) The deck itself has flashes of color in strategic places, it's very pretty. There are no people, just animals and wildlife scenery. They just recently released it in a new edition with the book/deck combination for a good price. The newer card stock is a bit thinner than that from the set released directly by the artist, but I do think it's still quite nice. I do like the book that comes with it quite a lot. If all I'm doing is drawing a card and using it as a meditative focus, the book's tone and style fit well for me. It's not for everyone, and I gather it's not all that user friendly for newbies, but I've really enjoyed using it as an adjunct to my meditation practice, so it doesn't bother me.


A Magical Course in Tarot: Reading the Cards in a Whole New Way by Michele Morgan is written in a style I find very approachable. After The Wild Unknown book, this one is, I think, my favorite. She doesn't include card images for every card the way some other books do.

I guess I'd generally recommend Joan Bunning's Learning the Tarot: A Tarot Book for Beginners just because it seems fairly clear and straightforward. If all you want is that, it's not a bad place to start. Admittedly, I haven't read the whole thing yet, I've been too distracted with other stuff.

If all you really want is straightforward descriptions and a tarot deck, The Easy Tarot and the Gilded Tarot seem to be pretty good, and IIRC, they both come with a Gilded Tarot deck which is one of my favorites. (Years ago, I got the Easy deck/book set, but lost the Gilded Tarot deck that came with it. Guess I wasn't ready to think in tarot images yet, LOL!)

I like the Universal Waite deck but would skip buying the book/deck combo because the book is a reprint of something venerable, that I just don't find useful. The Universal Waite is among my favorite of the 'Rider-Waite' style decks, I much prefer the faces/images to some of the others in that style. I do like the Gilded deck quite a lot, though.

I originally bought Nicoletta Ceccoli's tarot deck just because I think her artwork is interesting, and buying a deck was the cheapest/easiest way to have a bit of it to call my own. OTOH, I think it's a really quirky deck, and maybe not the best tarot introduction I could have had. The so-called 'little white book' that comes with the deck has some descriptions, but in retrospect I find them a bit bizarre. Maybe this style of deck is just not for me, no matter how interesting I find the pictures.

Tarot for Writers by Corrine Kenner is actually quite nice. It's got good card descriptions and plenty of room to scribble in the margins if you want to take notes in your book the way I do. If you want to brainstorm creatively and wouldn't mind drawing tarot cards to give your imagination a boost, this might be worth a look. This is where I store my tarot notes, writing blurbs about other book's interpretations of the cards alongside the ones here, since I seem to have immediately been drawn towards scribbling in this book.

The Enchanted Tarot book I have has fabulous huge pictures of the lovely deck. If you're actually into enchantments/wicca/spellcasting, this one might be a good one to consider. Each card has descriptions and assorted enchantment type stuff. This sort of ritual isn't really my focus, and it really doesn't speak to me, so I'm mostly in it for the lovely pictures and her take on the card descriptions. Not sure the prices are very good right now, but FWIW, I got my book/deck set direct from Amazon back in the spring for about $16. I'm not really that much of a fan of the deck itself, since it has huge white borders. If the nice large deck had nice large images, I think I'd be a much bigger fan. Still very pretty. Amy Zerner is the author's name.



I like the Linestrider Tarot book's descriptions, she does a good many of the 'if you draw this card and this one together, consider these connections' sorts of descriptions, so you can get a sense of how the cards relate to one another for her. I like the way she thinks about the imagery and symbolic meanings. The deck itself? Interesting, but maybe not my favorite. Also, the formatting of the book is less than straightforward. Not impossibly flawed, but still, not my favorite. (FWIW, I was a Lit major, maybe I'm just editorially kinda picky.)

Tarot of a Moon Garden is a bit too weird/new-agey for me. Didn't really care for the deck, and it feels to me as though the book were written for someone else. I just don't think this way.

Oh, and if you want some shopping advice, take a good look at what's being offered. Sometimes it's a book/deck combo, sometimes not, and sometimes the listings (used and new) aren't clear about which they're offering, or if they're offering both.

And ETA (yes, I know, I'm rambling): I really don't much care for the more esoteric styles of decks. The more occult/wiccan/gaian/peculiar/outré, the less I connect with it. Guess I'm just in it for the boost to my imagination. Angels and unicorn tarot decks are not my thing.

[SueT]

Anna, thanks so much for your detailed response. I really appreciate the time you took to explain everything to me. My daughter and I were looking into Tarot cards about 10 years ago, but then we somehow never pursued it further. She and I both love to write, so anything that can help with creativity and ideas always piques my interest, and hers, too.

I'm going to look into all your suggestions. Thanks again!

Sue

[mle777]

BunnyHop, thank you for all of the information on the Tarot Cards