Mackenzie Carose

Health and Outcomes

By Mackenzie 2 Comments

I have mentioned before in various posts about my focus on being a healthier person. Contrary to what the media tells us, I am not eating better and exercising so I can fit into a certain size dress or hit a goal weight so my life will be complete, whatever that means.

After my many decades on this earth, I know what makes me feel like rubbish and what makes me feel good. And I enjoy the feeling good part, you know?

Beside feeling good for myself both mentally and physically, I am on this health and wellness path for my children. I want to do what I can and what is in the realm of my own control, to be here as long as possible with my children. I want to see them grow up, become adults, start to raise their own families. I want to be there for their weddings and births of their own children. I want to spend time with my future grandchildren and be the best grandma I can, like my own grandmother.

My goal: To. Be. Here.

There is an article that comes to mind that was written by the duo known as The Minimalists. Their blog post, What Is My Outcome? brought to mind my health journey and what I want my outcomes to be. It is a series of four questions to ask when there is something you want to accomplish:

  1. What is my outcome?
  2. Why do I want this outcome?
  3. What actions must I take?
  4. Is this working?

For me and this path of health and wellness that I am on, these are my answers:

  1. I want to be the healthiest version of myself that I can possibly be.
  2. I want this outcome so I can be active and involved in my children’s lives from childhood through adulthood and beyond.
  3. My action list is simple: exercise most days of the week and eat as nutritiously as possible. Drink more water. Eat more vegetables. More whole foods and less processed ingredients. Make sure I stay up to date on all doctor appointments like mammograms, etc… Find ways to limit my stress and/or anxiety and to find ways to deal with these things in a more mindful way.
  4. Yes, it is working although there is always room for improvement. For example, last week I did not eat as many vegetables as I had in previous weeks, and I noticed how I felt physically. So this week, I am trying to incorporate more veg into my lunches and dinners.

I truly started getting on this journey last year in 2021 after the dumpster fire that was 2020. I was tired of feeling tired and my usual coping mechanisms were just not working. To be fair some of them were super unhealthy so in one sense, that is a good thing. Also, I know how important it is for children to see healthy behaviors. Especially with daughters, they really need to see their moms love who they are and love the body they are in and take care of it. Food is not our enemy. Neither is the number on the scale. My daughters need to see a healthy role model and I am doing just that.

My girls are the most important people in my life and everything I do is for them. I want to enjoy every moment possible with them and I am truly thankful for the internal wake-up call that I had last year to make my health a priority. The proverbial adage “Life is short” gets bandied about constantly but it is true. Time is finite and every day is a day to make a better decision than yesterday.

Life is a gift and I intend to make the most of it.

Domestic Things

By Mackenzie Leave a Comment

February has been one of those odd months where the shortest month of the year has seemed eternally the longest. Simultaneously feeling tired of winter and longing for Spring whilst also not wanting time to go too fast because moments are fleeting. Trying not to pay too much attention to the outside world lest it bring your feelings of the doldrums a bit too low.

So, my counteraction to the languishing persistence of February has been of the domestic variety: I’ve been in the kitchen.

Making, baking, chopping, dicing, oven mitt in hand, apron tied around my waist. Doing it all and feeling better for it.

I have heard that cooking is the cure for what ails you, and I have to say, whomever said that was not speaking falsely. Seriously, there is something about creating delicious and flavorful food and when your family agrees and comes back for seconds, that is the proverbial icing on the cake that I made.

There is a method to my culinary creating. I get my music going first. Usually 1920’s and 1930’s music, think Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald kind of tunes. Then I put my apron on and I swear this makes all the difference. Tying the apron just puts me into a different zone and ready to create. Also, aprons prevent items from getting all over your clothes. Get tomato juice accidently on your white shirt once and you too will be an apron convert.

And then I get to work.

This month I have made different breads and soups and even made quiche for the first time. As a creative person in my everyday life, it would make sense that being creative in the kitchen would also bring me peace. I enjoy that sense of accomplishment that comes with slicing into something I have made and my girls saying, “Ooooh, Mommy can we have that now?” and them being excited about partaking of what I have made. Sometimes they help me, especially my four-year-old who likes to get the step stool and help me pour ingredients. It makes my mama heart so happy.

There is less than a week left in the month that only holds 28 days. I am looking forward to the calendar page turning. But until then, I’ll be in the kitchen listening to Ella scat-sing, and cooking up a new creation.

All is right in the world.

As The Page Turns: February Edition

By Mackenzie 10 Comments

Books, books, books! Time for my latest book reviews 🙂

Everything Is Spiritual by Rob Bell

I first heard of Rob Bell when he was a guest on one of The Minimalists podcasts. I enjoyed the episode and decided to check out his book. It was so good. This isn’t a “woo-woo” book or anything but Bell weaves together his stories and his life with the awareness that we are all part of something bigger. We are all interconnected. It really is kind of hard to fully explain but I truly enjoyed this book and it made me think which I feel, is what non-fiction books are supposed to do.

Enough by Jessica Rose Williams

There aren’t many bloggers that I follow and actually take the time to read their blogs and actually be invested in their words and photos and stories, but Jessica is absolutely one of those people. She writes about simple living and minimalism and just last month, published her very first book! Enough, is about being enough in our own lives and to stop trying to be something you are not and know that you are truly enough. Jess weaves in her personal stories with reflections and journal prompts and while parts of her story were definitely hard for her to share, she shares her journey and how it can help others.

The Deep Places by Ross Douthat

Ross Douthat is a New York Times columnist who wrote this memoir chronicling his debilitating five-year struggle with Lyme Disease. To be clear he still has the disease, but he is in a stage of the chronic form where he able to manage the symptoms much better. But wow, what he went through… There is no cure currently for Lyme Disease which is afflicting more and more Americans each year and Douthat’s story, chronicling his depths of despair while being so intensely sick, is a fascinating foray into documenting your life as it is happening, knowing that if it can help just one person, then something good can come from the heartbreak.

A Monstrous Regiment of Women

A Monstrous Regiment of Women is the second book in the series featuring Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes. This series imagines a woman partner to Sherlock instead of Dr. Watson. These books take place in the 1920’s, where Sherlock is in his late 50’s, still solving cases. The first 7 or 8 books of this series are really the best. If you want to read this book however, I’d recommend reading the first book in the series, The Beekeeper’s Apprentice, or otherwise you’ll be a bit lost in this one.

That’s it from me! Any interesting books you’ve read lately? Let me know!