I sit here wondering what the best way to start is. It's been so long that I think that some sort of explanation is in order - although I'm not sure it is. Maybe I should set up my new plan about my intention to blog more regularly. Maybe I should start with a "let's bring you up to date on me" post. Then it occurred to me - just start typing! So you'll probably get a bit of all of the above (although not a complete "bring you up to date" - that would take hours upon hours, which I don't have).
I guess what I really want to start with is that I'm still doing The Happiness Project and I still love it! I've had some months that were better than others. Not that I didn't like the focus of certain months, just that I wasn't as dedicated. I realized (you're going to be shocked) that if I actually write down what I'm going to focus on, I do a much better job. I have two Happiness groups going and sometimes life it too crazy and I pick my subject for the month too last minute and make up my goals for the month on the fly. That doesn't seem to work too well for me. However, the months that I take the time to re-read the chapter that I'm working on, write down my goals and maybe make a scrapbook page to signify that month, I do amazingly well.
Last month was a complete success! I revisited the first chapter about vitality. I had gotten out of the habit of going to bed on time and that had been the only thing that had really stuck. The biggest problem I find with bedtime this time is my schedule with my kids was so crazy (last month of school) that they were going to bed later and I really need a bit of downtime between their bedtime and mine. I did ok, but I'm worried about summer since their bedtime is later. None-the-less, I made huge improvements in this area - getting to bed between 10:30 & 11:00 (my goal is 10:00) vs. between 11:30 & 1:00.
My next task was giving up soda. I'm not a diet soda kind of girl but I know how bad the real thing is for me. I've kicked the habit a couple of times before, but this time it just wasn't working out. So instead of my all or nothing approach (which usually works for me) I decided to take baby steps. Just go one day without it. Then the next week, go two days. I'm happy to report that currently, I've only had a soda every five days. I'm trying not to say that I'll never have one again (then I'll want it too badly) but the longer I can go in between, the better I'm feeling.
The biggest thing I accomplished, however - is that I joined a gym near my house. First of all what you need to know is that I would never say I'm a gym girl. Next what you need to know is that this particular gym is outrageously priced (in my opinion) and I'm not overjoyed with paying that amount of money "just to work out." So here's why I did. I had asked one of my friends if she thought the price is too much. Her answer was, "If you go, no amount of money is too much for your health." Ok - good answer. So that helps out with the money part. Plus, I decided that I would give myself three months. If I didn't use it enough for me to justify the price, I would stop (nice thing about this gym - no contract). That's the first part.
The second part is that everyone I know goes to this gym! Ok - there might be one or two of my friends who don't go there, but almost everyone else. Being the social person that I am, my thought process is that if I can go with a friend, I'm more likely to go. Even if I can't schedule something with a friend, there's a good possibility that I'll run into someone I know - which will make for a pleasant experience while I'm there.
Lastly, the child care is active-based. My kiddos won't just be plopped in front of a movie - they'll be moving. One of my goals is to get fitness ingrained in my children's lives so they're not struggling with it at 40 like I am. Plus, if my friends are there - so are their friends. Built in play-date. Yay me!
Well, I am happy to report that I started May 3rd and in the month of May I went to the gym eleven times. I did some sort of other exercise (hiking and such) eight days in May. Of the eleven days at the gym, I worked out by myself only three times - so the whole friend thing is a huge plus. Again, summertime worries me a bit. Don't get me wrong, my kids love, love, love the gym. However, in May I did go several times while they were at school. I hope they love it as much when they're going multiple times per week.
I also had a garage sale and was able to purge some stuff and I've finally (with help from a friend) put some bigger items on Craigslist. Of course, my goal it to continue with the workouts and the reduced soda intake. In a month or two, I think I'll do vitality again and focus more on healthy food, but for now it's time to move on.
This month I'm working on my passions. Hence - this post. One of the things Gretchen has said recently (or maybe it's not recently - but I just read it) is if you're having trouble getting something done, do it every day. At first, I thought that was a silly thing to try. If I can't get it done weekly, how on Earth am I going to get it done daily? Well, I've been doing it with the picking up of dog poo and it seems to be working out (if you know me, you know how huge that is) so I'm going to try it with my passions as well. That doesn't necessarily mean I'll blog everyday, since scrapbooking and hiking are also on my list of passions. But it won't be months again before I post something. I'm also wanting to research what else I might be passionate about. I have a ton of things I'd like to try, so I'm going to pick one or two of them and see if anything sticks.
And as I pause to re-read what I've written, it turns out that the "just start typing" thing was a good idea. I didn't focus on any of the things that I was originally thinking - not in detail anyway. But this was just what I needed: to focus on my happiness, to write it down. I think that means for June - I'm off to a great start!!!
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