Happy August!

I can't believe how fast this year has gone by and I'm sure I say that every year.  July came and went quickly, I didn't get as much organizing as I would have liked done. I did get the important stuff done though.  I organized my room and made a little meditation spot. I cleaned out my closets again and got rid of a few things.  I went out and did things alone.  I did a dating myself type thing. It was boring. I need someone to talk to, but I will learn to like being alone more. I know I will.



August is all about choices... Better Choices!!

For my Mindful Happiness Project, August will be Making Healthier Choices & starting my Financial Stability goal.  The only financial part I am starting is the non-consumerism, I will do this by using the reduce, reuse, recycle system. Using up what I have and only buying what is necessary.  This month, school supplies, clothes, and school registration are the necessities.  Recently, our toaster oven died. RIP Toasty... My kids really want me to get another one, but it will have to wait.  My kids will just have to learn to use a real oven. Though we do not have a toaster and now the waffles in the freezer will have to be tossed. Oh well.  I have books I will sell or donate, fabric that I either need to make into something or give to someone who can.  I have computer parts and what not that need to be rid of.  I was going to purchase 2 garbage bins for recycling, but I have decided to give up soda as part of my Healthy choices. I don't think I need the bins anymore.  Boom! Saving money already.

Healthier Choices are so much harder. I enjoy food so much. I'm addicted to soda, okay more like addicted to sugar and caffeine.  Both are unhealthy, I know.  So I am really trying this time.  I made tea this morning, filled my Brita pitcher, and made juice.  My plan when it comes to food is to finish off whatever is in the house, and when I shop I will make better and healthier choices.  I still have chips and popsicles in the house.  I'll be having chips with my tuna salad sandwich in a second.  I think as long as I eat within proper portions I should be okay.  We have a lot of canned fruits and boxed meals because I was trying to get the kids to cook more.  It didn't work. This time I will try a more fresh approach.  More salads, crock pot cooking and fresh fruits and veggies.  I'm also looking into a more sugar free lifestyle. I know I can't completely remove it, but if I can reduce it, I will.  Time to do some research and find recipes that will taste delicious but sugar free.

Accumulative goals for the month. 

Another healthy choice I am making is Fitness.  I made up a 90 day challenge for me to do.  I compiled a variety of fitness challenges and accounts, put them into a calendar for myself to work out to.  I have Daily, weekly and monthly goals. I didn't add arm exercises to the list on the left and a friend pointed it out.  Oopsy, I do have a plan for my arms and other body parts, I swear.  I broke the 90 day challenge down into 3 months to keep myself motivated and focused.  As time goes on, each month will become more intense, adding weights, time and exercises.  I will share more about this once I have everything set up.

Well I guess that is all for now.  Have a Happy August

What has changed this past month & what I hope happens next month.

Blog Challenge days 29 & 30 go well together, So I decide to wait until this evening to post. Day 29 is to be a photo of myself & Day 30 asks: What changed this month and what you hope will happen next month.

Here I am. 

This is me, no make up (not like I wear it that often anyway), hair pulled back like always and just my sports bra. Not much to look at now, I think I was pretty once upon a time. I just let myself go.

What changed this month? I think i have changed a bit, for the better. I realized some things about myself that I feel are horrible habits and/ or traits to have.  Some horrible habits I have known for a long time. I chose to ignore the fact that they were bad for me. I don't exercise enough, I walk everywhere, but I don't actually exercise. I drink tons of soda, eat too much snack foods instead of meals, and my sleep pattern is off. I think i really need to change that.Why am I wanting to do this all of a sudden? I'm not, I've said this plenty of times before. What makes it different this time is I have noticed how much money I am spending, time I'm consuming, and life I am wasting. Not to mention I am starting to look very old. I am not happy about that, mostly because people in my family don't age well. If I don't do something now I will look old and really gross in five years. UGH five years from now I will be 40. I'm not worried about the age really but, I am worried about what my health will be like when I become 40. Yeah it may too little too late, but I'm going to try anyway.
I don't want to just better myself health wise but mentally as well. I feel that i am at a low point right now and can't get out. All I want to do is sleep while the kids are in school and then go about my day/night when the kids are home. I feel sluggish, anti-social, and just plain stupid. I want to do things that will bring me back up emotionally. I want to find ways to stimulate my brain. I'm so bored with myself and life. I kind of like being anti-social though. I always end up being someones therapist or end up participating in gossip and hate talk. GAH! Why are we as a society so interested in talking shit about everyone else like we are better than them. I think most of the time I am saying WTF? Really, they did/said that? Why would they do/say that? It's old and repetitive. I'm done.

What do I hope will happen next month? Well it's June and the kids get out of school on the eighth. David (my son) has his eighth grade Promotion Ceremony on the seventh. YAY! David was also accepted into the AHS EDGE Academy. We went to the EDGE Expo and ribbon cutting ceremony tonight. It was very exciting. For the month of June, I hope start to better myself. I have a list of things I want to do this summer. I have goals I want to accomplish as well. June is the starting month. I am giving myself 3 months to get some things done and some things started. I don't want to start out doing it all at once and then give up cause I am asking too much of myself right off.  Stepping stones is the way to do it. I figure start something new every two weeks and I should be okay.  There are thirteen weeks until September 1st. I have eight total goals/challenges for summertime.

Challenges
1. Detox- Tea, fruit, and veggies for 30 days (water is a given)
2. No Facebook (exception for Davids Promotion Ceremony/dinner)
3. 30 day book challenge: How many can I read. (I may change it to the whole summer)
4. Summer self portrait challenge (a photo of myself everyday this summer)

Goals
1. walk/jog & Body Rock everyday (cardio or dance three times a week)
2. Make 5 purses/bags
3. Make 3 stuffed animals (one for each of my kids)
4. Make a quilt

The detox is needed. I ingest way to much sugar, salt, and caffeine. I will be substituting tea for soda and will gradually add coffee in the mornings. I'm not a big fan of coffee but will have one serving in the morning sometimes. I walk a lot already but I would like to add some jogging into it and go for longer distances. The Body Rock program will be great for me to do instead of going to a gym and I can even do the exercises anywhere if I have my phone. The photo challenge is more for me to record my progress.
I have all this stuff sitting in garbage bags waiting to be cut and sewn into something new, and I think it's time to recycle those items. Plus it will declutter my apartment and help me get back into non-consumerism.

Lent Day 39? Confused & an Update

Confused am I. How am I on day 39? Easter is still a week away. Yet I checked my calender and counted the days 3 times. I guess this year is longer. I don't know. A part of me is excited about ending Lent, but at the same time it doesn't really matter. I told myself I am giving up beef and soda for good and I know that is what I will miss the most.


Update: Complete Randomness

I am doing okay with the exercising and walking. I need to step up my game and get more serious about it. I need to work on my non-consumerism better. I think i want to cut my hair. I want to find somewhere new to live. I also want to plan trips to the city now that it's getting warmer. I really need to start doing things on my own. I can't wait for other to be ready to go, I have to just do it alone. I keep telling myself I can't be afraid. I keep telling myself it will get easier and soon I won't notice how alone I really am. Why is it we can be in a crowd or with friends and people who care about us, yet we still feel alone. The thing is, I just can't get myself to go past friendship. I'm not ready and I don't think I will be for a long time. I feel like I'm being childish. It's like if I can't have the one I want, then I don't want anyone. It's all or nothing. It's selfish, stupid and unfair to others. But life's not fair.

March is Spring Cleaning Month

Picture is from this article on Spring Cleaning. Read it!

  Every March & October is Spring/Fall cleaning. I would always make a list of what exactly i wanted to do & get done. Most of the time I would do a half ass job. This year will not be the case. I have a new list and a new plan to get things done. We'll see how it goes.
 I did a lot of cleaning last fall. Each month I tossed out 20 items. Unfortunately it wasn't enough. I still have a lot of stuff because I have been a serious pack rat. So i will do something similar through out the month of March. Each day I will either reduce, reuse, or recycle 2 items. Sounds easy, but i am sure it will not be anywhere near easy.
 I have broken my cleaning into 2, two week cleaning cycles. I have 8 rooms in my Townhouse. This is not including other parts of my home/property that will be cleaned. I will divide my home by floors. Upstairs (3 bedrooms, full bath, storage closet, linen closet, water & heating closets) will be week one & three. Downstairs (kitchen, dining room, living room, 1/2 bath, 2 closets, patio) will be week two & four.  I will use one day for each room. The linen closet & water/ heating closets i will do the same day The same goes for the closets & bath downstairs. I will probably take more time on the kitchen & living room since that is where we spend most of our time.
Today is the day I sit and plan it all out. I use Google Calendar to organize what days I will clean what rooms and a way to remind myself of some things i would normally over look while cleaning. I will be totally honest- I HATE CLEANING, and I suck at it, but someone has to do it. I am off to a good start and It's not even March.

This is what I end up doing. 

On another note: March will be starting another kind of "cleaning" for me. Ash Wednesday is March 2 & Lent starts March 7. For those of you who are not Catholic & do not know what Lent is click Here. I will go into more detail on the topic later this week.