Category: Monthly Check In

I don’t even…Seriously, what is up with 2020? May has come and gone. Have I done anything productive, yes. Have I maintained my NYR’s, almost entirely no.

Continue Practicing Gratitude

I continue to ask myself what I’m grateful for at the end of each day and I continue to send people thank you cards to maintain my gratitude space. I’m technically in the black on this one but I feel hollow.

Continue Spending Time With Family and Friends

Much laughter ensues. Obviously this is not happening, because #COVID.

Continue My Self-Care Regime

My self-care regime is now limited exclusively to binge watching This Is Us at the end of each day.

Spend More Time Outside

We spend an unbelievable amount of time outside and because I almost don’t believe it myself, I’ve taken a photo of our 1000 Hours Outside Challenge so you can see how far we are and roughly how many hours a day we spend outside. It’s crazy, and wonderful, and the only thing keeping me somewhat sane.

Write for One Hour Every Day

I’ve been writing in my journal every day and I continue to write letters to friends/family every week. It’s not the sort of writing I intended when I set out to #writeonehour, but it’s literally my best right now.

Submit at Least One Piece for Publication
Each Month

As discussed: not happening.

Read at Least One Book a Month

I have read zero books this month. There is only one book I want to read and I don’t have the energy to make it happen.

Take a Stained Glass Making Class

I still plan on being able to make this NYR happen this year but it’s not entirely in my hands right now. All dependent upon quarantine.

Summary

We’ve been camping in our trailer in our front yard all month and it’s been amazing. We spend way more time outside and we are all sleeping better (as a life-long insomniac I cannot tell you how incredible this change has been for me personally). We’ve been using this time to repair a bunch of stuff in the house that we could never get to with two kids running pell mell throughout the space. The house literally looks brand new in most places and where it doesn’t we’re actively trying to figure out a way to make it new, too. It’s super exciting.

Other than working on the house, hanging with the kids, writing letters and doing a spot of yoga everyday, and bingeing This Is Us every night, I have not done anything. And I’m okay with that. Sometimes our dreams need to simmer. Especially when the world is imploding before your eyes.

How are you doing on your New Years Resolutions? Are you meeting your goals? If you’re having trouble, take a look at my post on Achievement and let me know if it helps you!

How did April come and go and we’re still in this bizarre new other world? Sigh.

Continue Practicing Gratitude

I completed the Yale course, The Happiness of Well-Being. It is free and I highly recommend it. You can find it here. I continue to note things daily that I’m grateful for, although sadly/happily my gratitude jar has been packed away (more on that later). I’m in the black on this one.

Continue Spending Time With Family and Friends

This is a joke, right? Okay, in all seriousness, I’ve spent more time with my immediate family of husband and sons than ever before and it’s awesome. I’ve literally never been happier surrounded by them all 24/7. And also, please, for the love of all things selfish, I need a day to myself. We didn’t get to see family live-and-in-person, but we did do a FaceTime with my mom and brother and his awesome family. I send cards to friends/family once a week; silly cards, thank you cards, all kinds of cards. Just things to let people know I’m thinking about them. Since that’s kind of all we can do right now, I’m in the black here, too.

Continue My Self-Care Regime

With how hot it’s been I’ve stopped getting in the sauna three times a week. When it’s hot it’s just too much of a chore for me. I do, however, maintain self-care by practicing yoga, meditating, and watching The Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu because I just need to disappear from this reality for awhile (even if it’s for an even creepier and also not-that-hard-to-believe reality). I’m in the black on this one, too.

Spend More Time Outside

We have been spending so much time outside in our yards, y’all won’t even believe me. We literally spend a minimum of four hours outside every day, and it is actually much closer to eight to ten. And it’s been wonderful. The more we are outside the better the kids sleep, the better I sleep, the happier we all are in general…Outside: it’s where it’s at. I don’t have an updated pic of our 1000 Hours Outside Challenge but it’s easily one-third full. Crazy. We’re in the black on this one, too.

Write for One Hour Every Day

Super in the red on this one. I’ve spent an hour writing every day, but not here. I’ve made a few April posts on my blog, but most of my writing has been in a journal and in cards. I’m in a bit of a fiction writer’s fog right now, a little too overwhelmed by everything to sit and write calmly at a keyboard. In fact, this little bit of sitting here typing is sending me into a bit of an anxiety attack. I literally want to be doing anything else.

Submit at Least One Piece for Publication
Each Month

As discussed: not happening.

Read at Least One Book a Month

I’ve only read two books this month. Two. More than my one book a month goal, but surprisingly few with how voracious a reader I am normally. But I just can’t, y’all. I can’t. The only way I can focus enough to disappear right now is visually with movies/shows. But at least I’m in the black on this one for this month.

Take a Stained Glass Making Class

I still plan on being able to make this NYR happen this year but it’s not entirely in my hands right now. All dependent upon quarantine.

Summary

So, here’s the thing: we’ve been BUSY. We decided that since we are “stuck” at home, we might as well do all the things we’ve been needing to do to the house: renovations, paint, that sort of thing. This is nearly impossible to do with kiddos in the house, sooooooo, we moved into our trailer and are camping in our front yard. Ha! I say “moved into” but we still go into the house to go to the bathroom and shower and stuff, so we’re really just sleeping in the trailer and eating our lunches at the little bistro table out front. It’s been wonderful for the kids because they spend tons of time outside now from sun-up to sun-down, and because it helps them take their minds off the fact that they haven’t been to the library or park (or anywhere) for so long. They love that we’re “camping.”

My husband and I spent a few weeks packing up the majority of our things to get them out of the way and then selling all the stuff we found that we’ve never touched in five years. It’s been a fabulous kind of cleanse and purge and has helped sincerely with my feelings of overwhelm as it’s given me something to focus on besides the pandemic.

How are you doing on your New Years Resolutions? Are you meeting your goals? If you’re having trouble, take a look at my post on Achievement and let me know if it helps you!

So March was a bizarre month…. I question my NYR’s a bit and wonder how they may have been different if I could have possibly known what was coming, but I also think they’d probably be the same.

Continue Practicing Gratitude

I’ve continued with the gratitude jar and it’s crazy how much I look forward to reading all these bits of awesome come January 1st. I’ve also begun a new daily gratitude practice as part of the free Yale course on happiness called The Science of Well-Being. I’m in the black on this one.

Continue Spending Time With Family and Friends

Eek! Well, clearly have not been spending time with friends and the family the way I imagined. I did get my once a month day with my bestie before everything went to hell, but our monthly family meet-up had to be cancelled due to quarantine. What’s interesting is that I’ve continued to be in touch with both family and friends quite a bit more than usual through text. Everyone is being very good about staying in touch, probably because we all feel so out of touch. So while I haven’t maintained the friends and family time the way I wanted to, I’m going to go ahead and say I’m in the black on this one because I have remained in touch as much as possible given the circumstances and because my little immediate family has been spending much more time together.

Continue My Self-Care Regime

Definitely still maintaining here. I continue to sauna three or more times a week, I got my monthly massage in before the quarantine, and I’ve been making time for myself for things like reading and learning. I’m in the black on this one, too.

Spend More Time Outside

We continue with the 1000 Hours Outside Challenge and we’re getting outside for a little while every day. We even went on a few hikes this month to places that have been on my list for years. We spent several hours outside working in the yard the last few days and plan to repeat that tomorrow. We’re in the black on this one, too.

Write for One Hour Every Day

I need to double check but I think I only missed three days this month. All three were due to pure exhaustion and/or anxiety, so I don’t feel bad about missing them the way I should. I feel like they were “emotional health days,” and I give myself a pass.

Submit at Least One Piece for Publication
Each Month

As I said in January I realized this is a better goal for 2021. In the meantime I’ve adjusted the goal such that I’m reading and learning more about publication so that when the time comes I’m prepared. I’ve continued reading books on publishing, writing, agents, etc. I’ve also received a wonderful offer from a fellow blogger to do a guest post on her site and I’ll be looking into that. I’m in the red on my NYR but in the black on my long-term goal.

Read at Least One Book a Month

I finished ten books this month which is AMAZING and partly due to the fact that some of them were begun in other months and only finished in this month and partly due to the fact that there were a few days where we were home quarantined and the baby took his nap allowing me an hour or so to read when normally I’d be driving or doing something out and about. March has put me so firmly in the black on this NYR that I’ve had to expand my Reading Challenge on Goodreads.

Take a Stained Glass Making Class

I still plan on being able to make this NYR happen this year but it’s not entirely in my hands right now. All dependent upon quarantine.

Summary

Despite how anxiety inducing and sometimes completely crippling March has proven to be, I’m surprised at how well I’m continuing to move forward with my goals. Not only that, but taking the Yale course on happiness and an OSU course on gardening have been brand new goals added into the mix. I feel like I’m making the best of the situation at hand, and that’s really all I expect from myself (or anyone) right now.

How are you doing on your New Years Resolutions? Are you meeting your goals? If you’re having trouble, take a look at my post on Achievement and let me know if it helps you!

As you know if you read my January check in, our whole family got sick at the end of January and we remained sick for, wait for it…THREE WEEKS! Unfreakingbelievable, but there you have it. So February pretty much did a number on us. Still and all here’s where I’m at with my NYR’s:

Continue Practicing Gratitude

I’ve been sending out thank you cards to all the wonderful people who bring me extravagant joy. I’ve continued putting lovely slips of paper in my gratitude jar at the end of the day and it helps keep me focused on grounded. I’m not sure I would get such a kick out of my kid saying things like “oh come on!” as he tries to lawyer up and finagle his way into something if I weren’t paying this attention, so I’m grateful for gratitude (too mushy? A bit. But still true). I’m in the black on this one.

Continue Spending Time With Family and Friends

Family gets a D+ on this one. We had to skip our family meet-up in February because we were sick. Friends are a little further ahead this month because I had my once a month meet-up with my very best girlfriend and we’ve managed to make it to some events with other friends around town. Unfortunately, we have still not reinstated the weekly dinners with friends because we were sick. So while we are once again not keeping up as much as I’d like, we are still keeping up and I say we’re in the black on this one, too.

Continue My Self-Care Regime

I am still somehow managing to get my 3 times a week sauna time, and I had my monthly massage in February. I also went on a short bike ride with the kids, and I’ve been doing a lot of walking and continued working on a project that includes carrying around heavy things and bending and stretching and stuff, so while I’m still not actually doing the exercise I had in mind, I am still exercising. My non-inflammatory eating has been getting back on track. Not only that but there were actually a couple days in February where I wanted to wear some eyeliner and mascara so I did (if you know me you know this is a huge deal as I never wear makeup). I’m in the black on this one, too.

Spend More Time Outside

We’re still doing the 1000 Hours Outside Challenge and except when we were all too ill to walk more than ten steps, we’re getting outside for a little while every day, and lately we’ve been getting outside for much longer each day. I still haven’t had a chance to see how we stack up to others doing the challenge, but I’m really glad we’re doing it and I think it’s making a marked difference in how our kids sleep and eat. We’re in the black on this one, too.

Write for One Hour Every Day

Eek! So, when we were sick I definitely missed two days. I missed two other days this month when I was just too drained to write. I’m not pleased with having missed four days this month, and I hope it’s a one time deal for the year.

Submit at Least One Piece for Publication
Each Month

As I said in January once I started looking into how this works I realized this was not a legit goal for me to have for this year. None of what I have written in the past is anything I’d want to submit currently and none of my #writeonehour pieces are eligible to be cleaned up and submitted because they’ve technically already been published here on my blog. So, kinda stuck. I’m thinking this is a better goal for 2021 and in the meantime I’ve adjusted the goal such that I’m reading and learning more about publication so that when the time comes I’m prepared. In fact, I went to a lecture at my local library tonight that was given by a literary agent and was all about getting published. She also recommended some books I’ve read and others I haven’t, so I ordered the ones I haven’t read. Thus, while I haven’t submitted anything for publication I am learning about doing it and I’m in the red on my NYR but in the black on my long-term goal.

Read at Least One Book a Month

I was only able to finish two books in February as opposed to the five I finished in January, but it’s still enough to keep me in the black on this NYR and I’m stoked.

Take a Stained Glass Making Class

I’ve discovered a local woman who gives classes to beginners and she has a class coming up in March and another in April. Sadly, my youngest isn’t prepared for me to be gone for a minimum of six hours a day two days in a row, so I can’t take her class this Spring. I contacted her directly and she suspects she will have another class in the late summer and another in the early fall, so I’m still hopeful I’ll be able to make this NYR happen this year; huzzah!

Summary

For as much as we were sick in February, I’m actually amazed at how well I’m doing on my goals. I’m very disappointed I missed four days of one hour writings this month but I’m also trying to give myself a little slack: being sick with two kids and a husband also sick is no freaking picnic and I was absolutely doing my best. In the red on five out of eight may not be great, but it was my best this month.

How are you doing on your New Years Resolutions? Are you meeting your goals? If you’re having trouble, take a look at my post on Achievement and let me know if it helps you!

I have been dealing with sick kids for several days and the last 48 hours has been spent getting puked on and cleaning up puke and holding a kid so he can sleep at night…it’s been the side of parenting you don’t see in movies. It’s been horrible, and great, because it’s part of life and it won’t last forever. That said, I have had exactly one hour a day the last few days to do my #writeonhour and I’ve not had time for anything else. I am grateful for that hour, grateful to my amazing husband for taking over during that hour, despite the fact that he doesn’t have the boobs that do the comforting. Excuses aside, here’s where I’m at with my NYR’s:

Continue Practicing Gratitude

I started a gratitude jar on January 1 and I’ve been slowly filling it with little slips of life that bring me joy. The jar helps me refocus at the end of the day and I find that knowing the jar will be there I’m more present throughout the day as I listen for things to go in it, and as I experience things I want to put in it. I’ve also ordered more Thank You cards because I’ve had some people to thank since December but no time/cards to do the thanking. They just arrived today, and as soon as I’m not worried about getting covered in yak, I’ll be filling some out and sending them. I would say that puts me squarely in the black on this one.

Continue Spending Time With Family and Friends

Family gets an A+ on this one. I’ve had two family meet-ups in January. Friends are a little behind this month as I was only able to have my once a month meet-up with my very best girlfriend and none of my weekly dinners with friends. Once these kids stop getting sick I hope to reinstate the dinners. So I would say that while I’m not keeping up as much as I’d like, I am still keeping up and I say we’re in the black on this one, too.

Continue My Self-Care Regime

I am getting my 3 times a week sauna time, and I had my monthly massage in January. I’ve also gone on several bike rides with the family, and I’ve been doing a lot of walking and working on a project that includes carrying around heavy things and bending and stretching and stuff, so while I’m not actually doing the exercise I had in mind, I am still exercising. My non-inflammatory eating was put on temporary hiatus while we tried to see if what I was eating was causing the still breast fed kid to have gas issues. Turns out the only thing that seems to be a major no-no besides dairy and eggs, which we already knew about, is soy. So now I’m back to my non-inflammatory eating with no harm done. I’m thinking I’m in the black on this one, too.

Spend More Time Outside

We’ve been doing the 1000 Hours Outside Challenge and it’s making a huge change in how we all view our days. Even on horribly windy days we’re trying to be outside for at least half an hour. Even on the coldest days we’re trying to be outside for at least half an hour. I’m not sure how we’re stacking up to others doing the challenge, but for us it’s been a game changer. We’re solidly in the black on this one, too.

Write for One Hour Every Day

Done! Super black.

Submit at Least One Piece for Publication
Each Month

Ouch. Okay, so this one is a huge fail. I started a spreadsheet and began researching where and how to submit to, and apparently you can’t just submit to anywhere at anytime (learning moment!), there are open calls for submissions at certain points in the year and if you miss them, you miss them. Also, they only accept a certain number of submissions each year. So. Now that I know this I’m trying to compile some stuff to send so that I can get in on each submission time as it comes up. My lack of time this month has meant that I did not get anything submitted this month even though I technically could have. Red. Totally in the red here.

Read at Least One Book a Month

Thanks to the sauna and having started some books in December that I didn’t finish until January, this happened this month. I actually finished five books, two of which I didn’t start until January. So super black on this one, surprisingly.

Take a Stained Glass Making Class

Hasn’t happened yet. I need the youngest child to be off the boob during the day so I can take a class. I don’t imagine breathing glass dust would be good for him, assuming I could find a class that would even let me bring him. So this NYR is probably not going to be completed until later in the year.

Summary

I’m maintaining on all but two of my NYRs and that feels pretty great, especially because one of them I can’t do anything about until later in the year and the other one I am still making strides on. Five out of seven = winning, in my humble opinion.

How are you doing on your New Years Resolutions? Are you meeting your goals? If you’re having trouble, take a read of my post on Achievement and let me know if it helps you!