8 more Mondays...

My own personal motivation this week is that, including today, there's only 8 more Mondays left in the school year.

This has been my train of thought for the last few years. via

Also, Isaiah 43 has really motivated me for the last few months. Perfect for an Easter Monday as well. 

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What is motivating you today? 

This weekend I...

...took no pictures, even though I initially promised myself I would.

...did not turn on my computer at all.

...let my phone die and didn't answer texts. I checked Instagram once.

...attempted to organize some parts of the Wyoming house and made a master list of what I need to take with me next time (when I go there over my spring break). Had only two crying fits when I considered how much work is ahead of me when it comes to setting up a new house the way I'd like it.

...watched almost two full seasons of The Last Man on Earth. It's such a better version of an apocalyptic virus than The Walking Dead, in my opinion.

...tried three new-to-me restaurants. I'd go back to all of them. A diner, a vegan cafe, and an ice cream place.

....took a few windy walks with the dogs.

....also tried out Scott's new truck. He traded in the Tacoma that we loved dearly for a Ford Super Duty something-or-other. It'll come in handy as we start moving things to Wyoming.

....had to leave the dogs in Wyoming with Scott (I had wanted to bring them back with me since I have a 4-day week) because the fire danger in this God-forsaken state is so high that I don't feel right leaving them alone and worrying about them all day while I'm at work.

....finished an audiobook I initially started in October-ish, and realized I really enjoyed the second half of it. I Found You by Lisa Jewell.

...saw this article posted on Facebook last night. It happened at my old high school this past week, and we actually had a similar situation at my elementary school here in Colorado this past week too. I have a very strong opinion that, juvenile or not...10 years old or high school...your name should be published and your parents' names should be published and you should be able to be publicly shamed when you do something like that. The public has a right to know when you're stupid and reckless.

Anyway..that's a depressing way to end a list, right?

Here's some motivation for Monday...

I've always been meaning to read more C.S. Lewis.

The Bachelor ATFR is going to blow up tonight AND I have tomorrow off AND I have a work day on Friday with no students. All good things.

Monday Motivation...

I spent the weekend evenings watching the Olympics...mostly skiing and ice-dancing. I did some schoolwork. I walked the dogs a lot. We were coming off of a semi-rough week and hopefully this one will be better, but right now I have a very disgruntled Scout in front of me: Scott left for Laramie without him because this seemed like a good week to leave the pups in Colorado with me.

Anyway. If you need some motivation, here's something I find popping up again and again on my Pinterest homepage. Maybe it's on everyone's. Or maybe this graphic just seeks me out.

Tonight is going to be a dilemma: ice-dancing finals or The Bachelor? Ice-dancing will probably win. I became mildly obsessed with it after Vancouver in 2010. I had nothing to do that winter as I waited for deployment #1 to end (this week, 8 years ago) and watched the Olympics about 20 hours a day. I adore Tanith Belbin (uh, White).

Hope you have today off as well! (because how else would I be blogging at 8:20am?)

Motivational Monday (is back)

I thought about writing out a laundry list of what we did over the weekend and what we tried to accomplish, did not accomplish, and had to re-evaluate what we were trying to do. These last few months have been nothing if not a lesson in adversity. So, no recap because that would just be depressing. Also, this week is looking to be a logistical nightmare. Therefore, let's bring back some Motivational Monday. Because really now...it's Monday, I barely slept, and we have a lot to do this week.

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(I told Scott that they're going to start putting a picture of him next to the dictionary definition of adversity.)

Some good things: I didn't have any schoolwork to do this weekend because I worked so hard at accomplishing everything this past week or two. Penn State is #3 in the rankings. The Steelers won. The Broncos lost. It's going to be warm all week which means the (still) broken furnace isn't a huge deal for this moment in time.

Happy Monday and all. Here's to checking a few things off the to-do list each day!

Mondayish

I don't even remember Friday. Is that bad? 

I know Scott got home late. I know I didn't sleep well. 

Saturday morning, I had an appointment and then Scott had to go to work. I sat at his office for a bit. Went to the grocery store. Tried to take a nap. Worked outside for a bit.

Sunday was more of the same. I got the urge to wash the curtains, so that's what I did. The guestroom feels much more ready for guests now. I also cleaned the bathrooms because avoiding schoolwork means I'll get a lot of other things done. 

Some friends brought dinner over, which was nice, and we ended the night by watching The Leftovers but I can barely abide by the weirdness of that show. Has anyone read the book? Also, I hate Nora and that hair is the worst I've ever seen. 

Watching weather. 

Started listening and this was what I did to pass the time during my cleaning spree...

Bought strawberries for the first time this season and they did not disappoint. This is the best part about summer. 

And motivation of sorts...

"Happy" Monday. I have tomorrow off so today is more than doable... :)

Linking up with Biana

Motivation and Not Motivation

Motivation:

Not motivation:

Motivation:

Not motivation:

Motivation:

Not motivation:

Motivation:

Not motivation:

What kind of mood are you in today? 

A motivational mood or a not-so-motivational one?

I'm just covering alllll my bases.

Not quite a recap. It's Monday.

I could recap my weekend but most of it was spent feeling terrible. I even took a nap and that, like, never happens.
Also, I've literally sat down, like, three times to write this post.
I didn't do anything this weekend. The second half of last week piled on ALL THE STUFF and ALL THE THOUGHTS and ALL THE FEELINGS, so I think it just all caught up to me. I don't particularly feel any better about ALL THE THINGS but whatever. It's Monday.
In the between times of not writing this post, I: baked banana bread, folded laundry, hugged a dog (or two), did Pilates, graded some papers...etc. The necessary things.

I did do the grocery shopping and we did try an Ethiopian restaurant and I did make it to the post office but I didn't mail out ALL THE THINGS because, apparently, that's just how it goes.

I just ask for good thoughts and prayers as we head into another potential situation-altering week. ALL THE WEEKS seem to be situation-altering these days.

I could use another snow day. This is how I felt Thursday and Friday:

But then I think about this, and I realize things aren't so bad after all:

"Happy" Monday!  (If I must end this with an exclamation point, I will put quotes around Happy.)

MONDAY MOTIVATION.

In all capital letters. Today it's back to work.

So often, people cry motivation in the same way they cry wolf. They shout it from the rooftops and, to me, it comes off as insincere. Instead, I'll send you this message on a Monday:

No one says you have to go into Monday believing that this (THIS) is the week you will stick to your routine, stick to your diet, stay organized, not give up on cooking dinner by Tuesday night (this is me, fyi), etc. We all have those things we want to do, those aspirations for the week.

But each day IS figureoutable. Each Monday. Each week. All can be figured out.

So I could recap my weekend but I figuratively did nothing. I mean, I did a lot of cooking, and some cleaning, and reading, and I forgot what day it was for most of Saturday...but I didn't do anything. I went to Target yesterday, if that counts. Scott worked on outdoor projects. The weather on Saturday was conducive for staying inside:

It doesn't look like much, but it was a constant mix of snowrain for most of the day.

I think the sky was mourning because spring break was over.
I didn't get as much done as I wanted to over break, but oh well.
It's a new week. It's figureoutable.

Linking up with Biana

Monday.

Borrowed from Cherie, a friend and fellow RF Consultant

Also, my weekend.

Love these camo Keds I got for $19 back in December. First wear of the season on Friday. 

I packed up my winter shoes and coats in hopes that winter will come back.

This recipe for dinner on Saturday. 

The trees are starting to bud. I hate it. This means the bugs are coming back.  

Did something with the shed to "extend" it. This meant pouring more concrete. This meant carrying buckets of rocks and sand. Everything hurts. But since we're having this streak of 80 degree days (eyeroll), it's good weather for such work. 

These dumb-dumbs are going to get stuck under that shed one of these days.

They spent the (entire) weekend trying to corner a rabbit.

Exciting times.

Also exciting?

5 more days til Spring Break.

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Linking up with Biana

Self-Compassion

Edited to add: I wrote this before the Women Tell All episode of The Bachelor last week. You know, the showdown in which Corrine was given a free pass to act like a spoiled brat and was actually celebrated for it because that's what our country seems to value. Sickening, right?

Subtitle: Personal development learned from The Bachelor.

I was listening to the Here to Make Friends bonus episode on Friday afternoon a few weeks ago. Actually, Friday night. I'd put in a full day at work and then I'd had a thing to go to after work and this led to me getting home at 6:30pm, which is out of my normal routine. The dogs weren't pleased.

The hosts were interviewing Taylor. Taylor of Taylor-and-Corrine. That Taylor. She is a counselor and she was speaking really reflectively about her time on the show and the impact it's had on her professional life. She summed it up as people not necessarily liking her or trusting her because of the way she was portrayed on the show. We know they edit the show within an inch of its life, so it's not that she was a villain; they just needed watchable TV.

The one thing she said that really stuck with me was that she knew she had to give herself a bit of compassion concerning the fact that she did the best she could with what she had.

A paraphrase: Sometimes I regret certain things and thought that, as a counselor, I should've handled everything perfectly. And then I stop and think, No, I did the best I could and I have to trust myself in that. 

And then it was brought up that this is especially important when you're taking the criticism and feedback from others toward yourself.

I've had a rough go of it lately. I've been beating myself up for not being perfect in certain situations. But am I doing the best I can? Usually. I'm not intentionally screwing up or doing my worst. I'm not sabotaging myself. I'm forced to take very real criticism on a very-often basis. It's the nature of things. Again, I AM DOING THE BEST I CAN with what I have and based on what I know.

Sometimes it's necessary to have this reiterated but I didn't exactly expect to come from The Bachelor. I'm guessing it'd just been a really long week and this was certainly a quite necessary ah-ha moment for me.

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Motivating(ish) on Monday

We got our new furniture delivered on Saturday. The only hitch was getting the old furniture out. We have a plan (okay, I had a plan) to store it until later this spring when it will have a yet-to-be-determined purpose and/or we'll sell it. The old furniture is annoyingly large and my biceps and back still hurt from carrying it and wedging it through doorways. 

American Furniture Warehouse showed up at 9:15am which was not in the "9:30 to 11:30am" window. Of course, we were ready and prepared because that's always how we are. I didn't have to chase a dog across the yard as he tried to be overly friendly and lock him in a bedroom or anything. 

The new furniture actually takes up less space than the old couches. 

This means that it's more obvious than ever than I need a chair. There was a recliner that went with it, but that seemed like too much brown (with the brown floors and all) and I'm realllllly holding out for a print...maybe a blue/gray/green? With an ottoman? That doesn't cost $600? I don't think such a thing exists. 

So I totally didn't solve my problem of "I want a chair" at all. That was the original purpose of furniture shopping. I'd seen this sectional over a year ago and loved it and have been thinking of it ever since. 

8 years (and 4 houses) was a good run with the other couches, right?

Anyway, I've seen lots of great prints online lately and I wanted to print a few of them. Like this one:

This is your embedded bit of motivation in the post. 

I thought I should print that. Then I brought up the subject of the wireless printer to Scott and he said he wanted it for his own (that was its original purpose and then it became mine when it didn't fit in his bag for this last deployment). I said it was now mine and he could use it because I needed it. He said to use the printer (the non-wireless one) that's in the basement. I said I couldn't because there wasn't room for it to be properly hooked up to my computer which is upstairs. He asked why not. I said BECAUSE WE HAVE TOO MUCH FURNITURE.

And he said, Oh there. You admit it. Finally. 

But the lesson learned this weekend is that EVERYONE should have a sectional. That L-shaped portion is priceless and we're bickering over it already. 

Linking up with Biana!

At least it's almost Tuesday.

Some motivation as a new week begins.

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Friday evening began with drowning my sorrows in Panda Express. It had been a rough week. 

Saturday, we went furniture shopping, to the grocery store, checked the barracks, and I sat in Scott's office while he did some paperwork. We also had pho. 

Stopping to take pictures of ducks. 

New sectional arriving next week. 

Pho at 11am.

Got this email on Saturday morning too. At least one out of two applications went through. 

He's such a fancy dog. ...Is "fancy" the word for it?

On Saturday night, we went to a Colorado College hockey game. 

Sunday was just staying home. And Scott got this text message:

I really wanted to send that reply. But I didn't. 

Then we watched four episodes of The People vs. OJ Simpson because Netflix is the best thing ever. I wanted to watch this last spring but got behind and I never tune into FX.

Monday, my personal blessing from the Lord disguised as a day off, led to fishing and paperwork. 

See Scout swim here. 

Currently reading The Highly Sensitive Person (I definitely didn't fish)

Dunkin Donuts isn't nearby, so I was happy for the opportunity.

And now. Monday Tuesday.

Linking up with Biana!

A typical two-day weekend.

Sometimes I cannot make it home from work quickly enough on Fridays. Just because I want to not be at work and I want to be making forward progress toward relaxation.

Me and my ginger friend. In my new vest that I wear every.single.day.

Scott had a thing after work Friday, so I ate sweet potato fries and scrambled eggs for dinner and did some laundry and read a bit and caught up on a few blogs. I was asleep by 9:00. I watched a few episodes of One Day at a Time also.

On Saturday, I watched two episodes of Fargo, finished a book, graded some papers, finished all the laundry, ate macaroni and cheese for lunch, walked the dogs once, and then we went out to dinner with some friends. Flatiron's, as usual, was good. But no pictures because that's weird when you're with people you don't know that well. Or even with people you do, right?

Sunday. Watched the news for the first time in a few days.Then I went grocery shopping, cleaned things up, did some yoga...generally puttered away Sunday while sinking into the usual depression that would accompany an impending Monday. Fantastic, right?

Here's something to motivate you..I mean, if it motivates me, it may do the same for you. 

..because...

...however...

Cheers.

Linking up with Biana!