February 3, 2016

ABC Update: February


Here's the original post from last month if you'd like to see what it is exactly that I'm adjusting for betterment and convenience.  I don't have an update for everything, but some of these bullet points are always in the back of my mind, so that's what I'll have comments for.

Things I'm not going to do:

Track books in a serious and/or competitive way (even if I'm just competing with myself).  
I feel good about this.  I've read a few books so far this year, but I've really just been enjoying podcasts. I have a list I'm chipping away at but, if it gets read, it gets read. Not having to race myself is nice.

Stop doing schoolwork at home.  This is wonderful.  It was like all I needed to do was give myself permission to not bring work home and not do any of it if I did, and it all balanced out.  I found myself writing a plan one night that didn't take long, but I really think that's it.  The weekends are a little different.  I generally bring some papers home to grade because they have lots of tests on Fridays, but I don't mind grading while I drink coffee and watch the Today Show.
I also have a parent helper this semester and she's done some of the regular tasks that I normally bring home with me (sorting book orders, filing graded papers into portfolios, etc.) She's worth her weight in gold.

Giving up just these two things has relaxed me beyond belief.  Thank goodness for our ability to just say no to ourselves, right?

Stuff I won't compromise on:

Pilates. Still going strong.  If I showed my stack of finished Pilates calendars, you'd see how organized and type-A I really can be.  If you join The Balanced Life Sisterhood, you too can have a printable calendar each month. 

Walking the dogs. As long as I'm home before dark, I walk the dogs.  Sometimes we do a lap in the morning before school.  As the days get lighter this will be easier.  Last spring, I invented this term for these walks and called it a "run round" because they dogs can run free all 'round the house.  So our word for "walk" is "run-round".  They react the same way as if I'd pick up the leash and head for the door.

Meal-planning.  This is...going.  I've had trouble lately because I've had no appetite for some reason (stress, most likely, with deployment upcoming), and thinking What do I want for dinner? is hard.  I am still tracking just weekly trips to the grocery store and there's a certain freedom in knowing that I don't have to stop at the store after work for something because we have things to make.  Even if "things" means pancakes and scrambled eggs.  Because sometimes it's Thursday night and it's all you can muster. Scott has been getting home late and I usually make him something, or I make a giant pot of something on Monday and he eats it all week (chicken tortilla soup was an example of this). There's been many nights where I've had cereal/yogurt/fruit/ice cream for dinner. I am doing well with lunches though.  I pack 5 lunches for him on Sunday and I pack mine each night while I'm making dinner (or what we'll call dinner) because I tend to take leftovers and just a giant assortment of somewhat healthy snacks.  


New things I'm adding in:

Cardio.  I've started going to spin classes on Saturdays and it's been lovely.  I found an instructor who is actually good and makes spin fun. Her classes are always so full that I have to get there half an hour early.  They bring in extra bikes!  At some point, I'm going to start incorporating weeknight classes again and day classes in the summer, but it's really hard to do when I know I've had the dogs locked up all day.  Me getting home at 7pm isn't really fair to them. 

De-cluttering.  I've been on a rampage.  After reading The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, I realized I do have a lot of stuff I don't need and I started filling another garbage bag.  With clothes, I have no problem getting rid of things.  Purses are where I've struggled.  I got rid of a lot of few years ago and my issue is that each purse is tied to a memory.  Even if I'll never use it again, I want to hold onto it. I'm working on this.  My de-cluttering will come to a head as soon as the basement is officially finished and we can clear out all the boxes of stuff. I also have a plan to tackle the boxes of kitchen stuff that we have in the shed. It's not all necessary. 

So if we're making New Year's Resolutions, these have been mine. I'll continue to follow-up...because accountability.

And to end on a humorous note. This is me. 



8 comments:

  1. I definitely need to get back on track with meal-planning. I'm bad to plan for meals that I don't have the ingredients for instead of just using what I already have in my pantry. Also, I think when you begin to track things like reading in a competitive way it takes the joy out of it. I like to just read for enjoyment, not because I'm trying to read 50 books in one month. Have a great week!

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  2. I need to take a hard look at purses this weekend. I'm holding on to quite a few that I haven't used in years. They were expensive so my thought is that I should keep them, but honestly I need to part with a few.

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  3. I gave up doing school work at home years ago! I do spend lots of time over the summer tweaking and working on reading units and things like that, but what else do I have to do?? ;) Unless I get really behind, I never bring things home any more. I usually never did them anyway....

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  4. I really need to start de-cluttering, it has been on my list for months now.

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  5. lol that gif is hilarious.
    yay spin class! that's awesome. i really want to do a spin class, but the schedule is all over the place and it's hard to find one i can go to.
    pancakes for dinner sounds amazing. we have nights / weeks like that where we eat scrambled eggs or cereal or whatever. not sure why.

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  6. I always have good intentions to meal-plan myself and then all plans go out the window because I'm tired/lazy/Isaiah's work schedule is weird. Lately he's been working nights, and since I can't eat dinner before I work out, I end up making him something before he leaves at 6:30, then working out after he leaves and then having to make myself something separately. It's a pain.

    I'm reading that book currently, about 3/4ths of the way through...I had heard so many people make fun of it, so I've been trying to read it with an open mind. I actually don't mind it...there are some weird things she says to do (like unpacking your purse every day, or thanking your shoes) but I think a lot of that may be attributable to a cultural difference. Either way, I'm inspired to go throw a bunch of stuff away now.

    Regarding your purses...blog/Instagram sale, or eBay or something? That way someone else can love them too but you know they're going to a good home! (Marie Kondo would disagree strongly with this idea but whatever.)

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  7. It has become a long standing joke among friends how much I detest cardio...but I'm also in the worst shape of my life. I need to do something about that. Just reading your cardio paragraph felt like a kick in the butt!!!

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