Self Care Day 15: Get Physical

Self Care Day 15: Get Physical

#SelfCare 

This is another task that I am learning to be more diligent about. Those stairs at Acton are less of a challenge than they were when I started, and I'm always happy about progress. 

Victory!

     It's the little things, am-I-right? I love celebrating little things that make me happy, or accomplished, or even just random silliness, which really should be a 'label' here on the blog because I post so often about it. 
     For today, this week really, I'm yelling "Wooty Woot Woot!" over the fact that I've gone through the last 15 months of emails lingering in my inbox. All read, all saved for some reason, just sitting there, annoying me every time I opened my email app. So, I decided it was TIME to tackle it head on. I started by updating my files options, adding a few new folders for new email types, and consolidating a few that probably should have always been combined. Then I went through and deleted like crazy, to the tune of several hundred emails. Then I started sorting into folders, trying to wade through a month at a time. Along the way, I unsubscribed to nearly 20 newsletters that I've been getting for quite some time but are either no longer applicable to our life, or I just signed up for them to enter a contest or some such. This time last week, I was getting between 50 and 75 emails every day. Today, just 13, and a few more of those will drop off in the coming week as some newsletters take up to 15 days to delete you from their email lists. So, by this time next week, I should only be getting a dozen or less emails a day, all pertinent to our lives, and I'll have waded through the rest of the backlog from 2012-2016. 
     Please feel free to join me in my email quest, or some other small task you've been putting off for too long, and then post a comment about it, so we can all congratulate each other. 

Let's do this!

My Word For The Year: 2019

   Do YOU have a word for the year, or a motto, or a special verse? I have joined this movement in recent years and I like the idea of having an overall focus or goal for the year. However, choosing that word is sometimes difficult as I have too many ideas for what I want to work on in the coming year, or conversely, none at all. This year's pick took me a while to really settle on and I think it's a good one. In fact, I think the last several years worth of hard work have led me to it. From retiring my #PlateSpinner hashtag and replacing it with #NoLongerAPlateSpinner a few years back, learning to say ENOUGH (that one took a while) and last year's goal of Progress, it's been a circuitous route, but here I am, ready for something new.

    This year, I'm focusing on me: my attitude, boundaries, and personal growth...things under MY control. I've learned so well over the last few years that my attitude as a mother and a wife truly affects my people, my job, and my home. And since it is under my control, so I should make every effort to use that to bless people. I can choose to use my powers for good or evil. I want to choose good. And so I shall.

   
    My word for this year is CHOOSE. I will choose to work hard, love harder and bless everyone I come across, all year long. I will choose to smile when the days are long. I will choose to speak gently in love when I feel like screaming. I will choose to pray when I feel like worrying. I will choose to take time to spend with my family. I will choose to feed my people good, nutritious meals when fast food is an easy way out. I will choose to read my Bible and spend time with Jesus, so I know where He wants me to work on me, and how He wants me to share Him with others. I will choose to make time for Dan and I to be together just for us so as we face the coming years, it will be as a team, not as two individuals pulling in opposite directions. I will choose to say no to good things, so I can save my YES for the best things.

   My goals for the year are as follows:

*Personal Health*

• Fix my foot
• Eat veggies 2x a day
• Drop 3 sizes
• Hike "A" Mountain

*Spiritual/Intellectual*

• Read the New Testament
• Pray from a list
• Read 52 books
• Serve in our church
• Continue with our Community Group

*Marriage/Family*

• Help The BIGS move out as they are ready
• Go on 1 family weekend-camping, Grand Canyon, Cloudcroft
• Continue Pizza and Movies on Sundays
• Date Night with Dan monthly

*Home*

• Finish garage
• Repair Breakfast Nook roof
• Reduce our Possessions by 30%

*Finances*

• Save $1000
• Stay Current on bills

*Hospitality*

• Host/Attend a gathering once a month
• Call a friend 1x a week
• Send a handwritten note 1x a month

*Homeschool*

• Finish the 2018-2019 school year well, complete our curriculum AND our 180 days with good attitudes and good grades (focus on comprehension, not completion simply for the sake of completion)
• Enjoy our summer break filled with outdoor fun, lots of reading, and family time
• Start the 2019-2020 school year on time, and work hard to make progress all year long

*Travel*

• Visit IL to see #BabyThea soon after her birth and celebrate #BabyCaden's 2nd birthday (His hashtag will become #ToddlerCaden)
• Send Dan to IL for Mambo's 80th birthday
• Visit Laura Hepker in Austin
• Visit Cindy in Phoenix
• Start saving for a family trip to IL in 2020

 I'll try to post in once a month and update my goals. I'll try to have good news in at least one category every month. ;)
 

#100HappyDays2018: Day 74

#100HappyDays: Day 74
A to do list with so many check marks. For a list-making lover like this, this is a great feeling. Not bad for a Saturday at home 👍🏼

#100DaysOfSummer
#ToDoList
#ILoveLists
#100HappyDays2018

It's the Little Things: Day 128

 

 I want to focus on the good things this year.
All the things people get right.
All the times that everything works out just perfectly after we assumed disaster had already struck.
All the times that the right word was spoken at the right moment.
So, let's celebrate those little moments together, shall we?

The past few weeks have been frustrating for me and I'm finding that I'm being extra critical not only of myself, but of anyone with whom I interact. Now that I've stopped to think about that, I'm wondering if it's directly correlated to the fact that I've slacked off of intentionally looking for the good and the beautiful. So, to answer that question...

• It's DT's room finally getting clean. Woot! (If you've ever met a 12 year old, you know how big of a deal this is, LOL)
• It's having plenty of leftover tamales from the night before, so you not only have something quick and easy to eat, but you also don't have to cook tonight.
• It's getting back to blogging after last week's Screen Free Week adventures.
• It's spending an evening just hanging out with family, blogging, reading, and laughing together.
• It's going to be at a reasonable hour, so I can get up and do it all again tomorrow.
• It's enjoying my roses every.single.time I go outside. 
• It's having a fun planning session about names and styles when PattyCakes comes home with a hat that says "MeYeR Crew Garage" and wants everyone to get matching hats. 
• It's reaching out to a friend that's hurting. 
• It's having TIME to invest in people instead of always being so busy that I just hoped other people would reach out. #NoLongerAPlateSpinner
• It's finishing my 10th book this year. I'm still behind on my goal, but less behind than I was recently, so PROGRESS!! I love progress. 

It's the Little Things: Day 39

  I want to focus on the good things this year.
All the things people get right.
All the times that everything works out just perfectly after we assumed disaster had already struck.
All the times that the right word was spoken at the right moment.
So, let's celebrate those little moments together, shall we?

•  COMMUNITY GROUP! How I've missed meeting together with these amazing people. These are 'our people' and I've missed them like crazy over the last 10 weeks that we've not been meeting regularly. It was GOOD to be together again. 
• LEGO Club was a large affair again, and I'm endlessly amazed at how we can have 30 people in the large room of the office, and while it's loud, there is no fighting, no fussing, no drama. It's such fun! 
• DT and Mr. T had a great day of school today. I think we are finally getting back into a good groove after the holidays. 
• I think I'm getting the hang of this free time thing. I'm reading, blogging, and relaxing more than I have in the past several years. I may get good at it before too much longer. :) 
• I'm embracing my word of the year (Progress) and learning to grant myself grace in areas where I struggle, encourage myself where I'm lazy and to be grateful for small changes instead of hoping/praying for overnight sweeping massive changes that never end up lasting. 
• I've already blogged more this year than I have during 2 other years during the last 10. I'm going to call that progress and delight in it. (Hopefully, I'm not talking your years off, LOL)
• It's stumbling across a perfect field trip for the boys that 'magically' ties in with what we are currently studying. Ain't God good?
• 
  

What's on YOUR grateful list today?

2018 Word and Goals for the Year

  I know I'm a bit late to the party, as it's well into January already, but I wanted to share my word/motto for the year and some goals I will be working throughout the year. But first, a quick recap of 2017 goals/word.

  It took me a while to determine whether I was done using the word ENOUGH, as it's been my word for a few years now. I finally decided that with 2017 fully in the rear view mirror, I was ready for a new word and new goals. I retired my #PlateSpinner hashtag in June of 2017 by retiring from the B-Bunch House after 5 years and starting a new job at LFAL. I fully embraced my new hashtag of #NoLongerAPlateSpinner just a few weeks ago by bidding my snack bar lady work trade job at Gym Magic a fond farewell and reclaiming my Saturday mornings after 8 fun-filled years. So, I'm calling 2017 a win on goals, since my only true goal of last year was to retire the plate spinner tag.


     Moving on! Hello and welcome 2018. The word I've chosen for this year is "Progress". My motto is more of the same by choosing "Progress, not Perfection" to print in my planner and on my heart all year long. I've spent too many years either in one camp or the other...exacting perfection (or beating myself up for lack thereof) or a lackadaisical Meh, close-enough-is-good-enough attitude. Neither actually work for me, or lead to a healthy balance in my life, so I think Progress is a better fit. I can give myself grace on the days where it all goes to the dogs, and encourage myself to do better when I'm not giving things enough effort to make it come together.
     As for my specific goals, I've tried to just be reasonable with myself this year. We are in a season of change. Dan is currently unemployed. I don't make enough to support us. That is stressful and requires a good portion of our attention until that resolves one way or another. PattyCakes just turned 19 and will probably move out within this year, leaving us with just one child left at home, a situation we've NEVER encountered before as even when we were young parents with only one actual child, I was nannying for 2 littles and caring for my young nephew many MANY hours a week. I've never parented ONE child before, let alone a child who has FULLY embraced his 12 and a half-ness like this one does. It's not going to a dull or boring year, that's for sure. And that's ok, I just need remember that as I attempt to be real about how many/how specific of goals I can work on while I live this life I love so much.

     So, for the nitty gritty:

Spiritual:

• Make a new habit of praying WITH Dan as often as he is willing. 
• Read the Bible every day.
• Make a prayer list and pray more often and more specifically.

 Health:

• Instead of specific numbers/servings/grams, etc. I am adopting a eat-to-live attitude instead of my usual live-to-eat policy. I'm trying to pack simple healthy lunches each day, get more veggies in than in the past, and make sure I get my water every day. By end of year, I want to be able to hike Dripping Springs, A Mountain and Aguirre Springs. That's it.

Books: 

• Read 52 books (or approximately one per week) hopefully along these lines
  
  • 6 marriage 
  • 2 financial
  • 10 novels
  • 1 magazine subscription
  • 2 gov't
  • 3 history
  • 10 read-alouds with DT
  • 2 book club choices
  • 1 spanish
  • 10 Christian Living
  • 10 books that I had on my list from last year

Family:

• Start eating together at the table at least twice a week
• Get away together for at least one long weekend and 4-one day trips
• DE-CLUTTER the whole house. I mean it. For reals.

Cultural/Social:

• Attend one cultural/social activity per month that's inexpensive or free~ Game Night does not count, no matter how much we love it
• Attend 1-2 BIG events this year (Newsies, Lion King, TobyMac, etc)
• Participate in #NoPantsApril2018 and #100HappyDays 

Personal: 

• Wear Make Up 1-2 times per week
• Slowly upgrade my wardrobe with an emphasis on high quality classics with a few trendy pieces thrown in for fun (Limit t-shirts with writing on them)
• Plan meals and cook 4 times per week, plus pack healthy lunches for DT and I at work

Financial:

• Get back on track once Dan gets a new job and stay current on the bills
• Save 50% of my monthly earnings to start and grow our emergency savings
• Tithe more generously (not just to the church, but to our community)
• Pay off Dan's Honda
• Put up a clothesline, repair the breakfast nook roof/ceiling, install raised garden beds in the back yard, get a coop and 4-6 chickens, and plant dwarf fruit trees along the rear fence line. (probably only 1-2 two of these will happen this year and that's OK) 

I know that despite my trying to be "reasonable" with my goal setting, I've set some pretty challenging goals. And that's not a bad thing. I will try to update once a month to see how I'm progressing.

Feel free to share your goals so I can cheer you on this year as well! ~K~