The August Challenge is in full force! I hope you are well on your way to making August a fear-conquering month.
I decided I need a way to keep myself accountable online throughout the month of August, so I created a page just for this challenge where I’ll be logging my daily feats. It’s going to function as a personal diary of sorts, only you’ll be able to follow along throughout the month. I encourage you to leave comments on the page documenting your own daily accomplishments. I see some of you have already done that, so thank you!
The page is found under the main menu “Popular” category and then under “Challenges”.
You can find my daily log here –> Do One Thing A Day That Scares You
I have so many things I want to tackle this month head-on and for the first time in a while, I feel inspired rather than just thinking about the fear associated with it.
Last night, I asked you on Facebook what fears you have overcome so far and I was blown away by your comments. You are all doing amazing things and I find myself inspired when I read how you are doing. Let’s keep the conversation going all month long!
A few of you mentioned that committing to one thing a day for an entire month is intimidating. Rather than feel intimidated, I encourage you to modify this challenge to suit your own needs. Maybe you’d rather set one overarching goal each week and work towards that. It’s really up to you how you want to go about it!
This Week’s Veg Link Round Up
New Canadian Food Labeling Rules to Take Effect – via Globe and Mail
25 Ways To Move More This Weekend – via Huff Post
Cantaloupe in Coconut Rose Cream via Kiran Tarun
A Decade of Decline for US Meat Consumption – Have We Seen “Peak Meat”? via IDA Blog
USDA Retracts Meatless Monday support after outrage from meat industry – via ABC News
Oxfam talks about USDA’s retraction and why they still support Meatless Mondays as part of their Grow Campaign – via CNN
Food Styling 101: Soup – via Bittersweet
The Forks Over Knives Cookbook is already featured on Amazon Bestseller list 2 weeks before release – via VegNews
VegNews hosts the 2012 Veggie Awards highlighting vegan businesses, products, and people. I am thrilled to be nominated in the blog category next to so many bloggers I admire. To casts your votes, see here.
Study Suggests Genetic Clue Why Women Live Longer – via Globe and Mail
Have a lovely, fear-conquering weekend!
I find this challenge very interesting. I have so many fears that I let them control me and consume my life I wanted to write one fear but I have another one so I have decided to write them all down and conquer them this month.. Thanks so much!! I am looking forward to this challenge I will be documenting on your fear page asap. :)
Ooh girl, I see some good links in there I want to check out!
I need to think of the fear I’m going to face today.
I love this challenge Ange! There are several personal fears/challenges that I’m facing this month and I can’t wait to check out how others are doing so we can spur each other along!
I think I successfully beat the HUGEST fear – admitting I need to lose weight and posting my “before” pictures … that seemed like the hard part but this weight loss thing is sure to be far harder
Not to discount the challenges of losing weight, but I wouldn’t underestimate the difficulty and bravery of posting “before” pictures! Taking the first step is always the hardest. Congratulations!
Could you help me with something please? My ‘adopted’ daughter is getting married in a few weeks and has asked me to bake shortbread cookies for their favours. She would like three cookies for each guest (175), one with each of their initials and one with a heart (in icing). The cookies will be stacked in little boxes. I am thinking that the icing will smear. Also, what do we wrap them in so they don’t get stale? In addition. . . . I have never made shortbread cookies and hear they can be tricky. Any ideas or helpful hints?
Hi Judy, I baked ginger cookies for my wedding so I can understand the undertaking! I didn’t have any icing so that wasn’t an issue. I wrapped them in celophane and ribbon because I was worried they would get stale if in a box. I have seen many people use boxes though so Im sure it’s possible. I don’t personally have a shortbread recipe on the blog unfortunately. I haven’t had much luck with a vegan version yet. I would start with searching for best shortbread recipes online and go from there. test a few out and see which you prefer. As for the icing, royal icing is usually used for piping. Not sure if the cookies need to be vegan for the wedding, but it contains egg whites. Im sure a vegan version is possible though.
I think what I would do is check online and see what wedding favour bakers are doing – maybe poke around their website or even shoot them an email or call for advice. Let me know what you end up doing! Goodluck.
Thank you very much for the ideas Angela. Several people have told me that shortbread is very tricky and delicate and they have suggested a sugar cookie. I also thought about your ginger cookies. I have called our local bakery and she is doing samples with some different ideas. I will check out all the options. We will have to wrap them in something before we put them in the box. Thanks again and I will keep you posted.
Have a great long weekend!
Judy
it’s interesting how different things work for different people. for me, the only thing that really motivates me is to commit to something for a certain time frame. guess i’m just a schedule type of gal, but this usually is the method that works best for me!
I fearlessly-ish jumped into a leg workout last night that I was more than a little scared of… and you know what? I proved to myself – once again – that if you tell yourself you can do something, you probably can. It’s all about the attitude. Thanks for the reminder to thake the plunge. :)
Nice work Laura!
Thank you for those great links!! I totally am going to check out the food styling 101 link. :)
Glad to hear you are off to a strong start-can’t wait to see the amazing things you do this month!!!
I think your challenge is great and I love that so many people are excited about it. And great links (love Hannah – she is such a doll and great photography!)
Its great that you have a page that we can follow your month long challenges.
Very inspiring. Ill be sure to participate x
I love that so many are excited about the Aug challenge :) And thank you for including my recipe on the list! Have a great weekend, Angela :)
My pleasure, thanks for your great blog!
I love your blog! You have such a wonderful & warm personality!
Thank you Ashley! :)
You are encouraging so many people through your August challenge, including myself! It’s very scary to face your fears, but so empowering to know that they don’t have to control your life or that it really isn’t as bad as you imagined it to be. Thank you for putting yourself out there!!
Today, I went to a job interview for a position that I REALLY, REALLY want (coroner’s assistant in the hospital in which I currently work). I think that it went well, but it will still be a LONG wait until Tuesday when I find out one way or the other!! :)
Angela,
Thank you so much for doing the August challenge. It’s kind of sad to think how much further people and the world could possibly be if people weren’t so scared to put themselves out there because they could possibly fail in the process. I am joining your August challenge by trying to not have so much anxiety about school and trying to be perfect. My anxiety in the past had caused to not do well during my undergrad, gain weight, and cause my depression to be worse. So far I have done much better dealing with my anxiety during grad school.
On another note, thank you for including the ABC news story about the USDA and meatless Monday. I was very saddened to hear that the USDA succumbed to pressure from the meat industry and is not encouraging “Meatless Monday.” The USDA definitely knows what goes on in the meat industry. Also, the majority of the US population is so unhealthy right now and many of the proposed “Meatless Monday” meals that I have seen are very healthy.
So again, thank you for everything!! You have such a lovely, informative blog.
Thank you Lisa, I appreciate your comments so much!
I agree about the USDA’s retraction – very sad. If we look on the bright side, it has brought Meatless Monday into the spotlight & back on the news. Most people don’t seem to support their retraction from what I’ve read, so that’s a great sign. If anything hopefully it will only further strengthen the resolve of those committed to MM.
Awesome challenge! It’s so easy to get stuck in a comfort zone
Thanks for the roundup and that awe inspiring photo! You can do it! We can do it! Rah, Rah, Rah!
I guess I have been doing my own challenge today- eating when I’m hungry not around the clock. I am eating lunch as we speak (tut tut multi-tasking) and it’s a bit nerve racking eating so early for me but oh well- my body will appreciate it :)
Thanks so much for posting the link to the Oxfam article on CNN. Have you heard of Oxfam’s GROW Method? I think you’d find it interesting…http://www.oxfamamerica.org/campaigns/food-justice/five-principles-for-feeding-the-planet?redirect
Thanks for sharing Kayla! Do you know if they have an article that elaborates on the 5 principles more?