Weeks 8 & 9

I went into week 8 without a specific goal- I had been doing well at getting up by 8 the previous week, (and I'm still rockin that one out!) but when I realized that I didn't have a plan yet a couple of days into the week, I was a little discouraged. I was thinking about it last Wednesday, and I didn't want to start working on a new goal half way through the week. As I looked back over the week so far- I realized that there was one thing I had been doing every day that was on my list of goals- drinking tea everyday! Week 8 became my tea drinking week. I love tea. I might have to do a blog post about my favorites at some point, but I'm going to stick with telling you about my weekly goals in this post.

Feb 27-Mar 5 is week 9. My goal for this week is to read to DJ a bed time story every night. I know reading to him is important, and I think bedtime stories are the perfect way to incorporate reading into our schedule. I didn't get to read to him last night though- he fell asleep at 7:30, which is half an hour before his bedtime routine starts. Tired little guy! I think he slept until ~6:30 this morning too... I'm not totally sure what time he woke up. I could hear him making happy little noises in his crib while my alarm was going off, but it took me a little longer to wake myself up and get me out of bed (closer to 7:50 :P) .

If there is one thing I learned from week 8, it is to pick my goal early enough that when the first day of the next week comes, I can start right into it. Week 10 eh? I wonder what my goal should be... Getting to bed by 11:00 at the latest? Putting Menu plans in place? ooh. I like that last one. Well, both of them. I guess I've got the next two weeks planned out in advance. :D

Quick picture: A shawl I finished knitting last week, and DJ being my very cute model.

It is a New Year

It's a New year, with new goals, new hopes, and new dreams.

I'll admit, I'm a little slow getting some things started this year. Budgeting and record keeping one of them- I really need to work on that soon.

But let me tell you a little bit about what my plans & goals are for this year. Let me share how I am approaching things.

I have four main areas that I am focusing on this year, with the most important listed first:

1) Grow in the Lord
    a) Daily devotions- reading His word & praying.
    b) Get plugged in at our church
2) Care for my Family
    a) David- make sure his needs are taken care of (meals, rides to school, etc)
    b) DJ- Make sure his needs are taken care of (feeding, changing, loving him. Hard job eh?)
    c) Keep our home as a castle- Be a good steward of what God has given us- keep it clean & tidy
3) My body as a temple
    a) Eat healthfully
    b) Exercise regularly
    c) personal upkeep - Even if I'm not going anywhere or doing anything that day, still get ready just in case
    d) Music
4) Etsy
    a) weekly updates
    b) keep good records
    c) keep everyone up-to-date via Ravelry, facebook, twitter, and my new blog.
    d) Other mis. business goals.

I'm approaching things backwards from the way New Years Resolutions often go. Instead of making a huge list of resolutions, implementing them all at once, and then watching them swirl down the drain, I'm starting slow. I've got one thing I focus on each week. The rest of them, if they happen, great. If not, no biggie- I'll get to them one of these weeks. If I mess up on one week, I'll repeat it- not always the following week, but probably within a month. (P.S.- this is inspired by Benjamin Franklin's 13 virtues and how he approached self-improvement. More info here.)

To show you what I mean:
In the back of my journal, I've got 52 lines set aside. 52 weeks in a year right? Well, so far,
1) Daily devotions
2) Get into a daily schedule, including preparing 3 meals/day, on time
3) Better dental hygiene (Start using a water pic, etc) [I failed at this one- it'll be a re-do in a couple of weeks]
4) (this week:) Smoothie or fresh fruit + a cup of tea every day

As I think of things, I add them to a list of things I'd like to work on this year. Some goals I've already got in place fairly well, without having a specific week to work on it. Some goals wouldn't fit into the one week system since they are once/month goals- like reading 2 books/month, knitting a pair of socks a month, participating in monthly spinning challenges.

What were your new year resolutions? How are you approaching the hope that this new year brings? If you feel like you've failed already, may I encourage you with a phrase I used last year: "February is my new January" Hey- for that matter, ever day is a new day! A new chance to start working on something good. Why does it have to only be once a year that we evaluate where our lives are headed?

If you've read this far, you deserve a little treat:

Goodnight all!

A choose your own adventure.

As promised on Facebook- to those of you who follow me both places- a choose your own adventure! Well, sort of. Let me explain a little bit of background here first.

I love lists. I lived by them in collage. Well, my whole life actually. If I don't have a list, I don't get it done. However, since the birth of my son, I find that lists can be very discouraging. When DJ was first born, I would sit down at the beginning of the week, just as I used to, and make a "master list" of all that needed to be done that week. Then I'd break it up into days... These 5 things need to be done on Monday, I'm going to do these 2 big tasks on Tuesday, run errands on Wednesday, etc. However, when you're living with the beautiful unpredicability of a small child, it becomes hard to get things done. Monday would end, and I'd only have one thing (if that!) done. Tuesday would begin and I would be determined to get both Tuesday and Monday's list done. And, once again, major fail. It got discouraging very quickly. I tried to lower my expecations and not worry about getting anything done, only... I would end up not getting anything done, even when I did have the time to do it.

The following is something that has been brewing around in my head for a while. I have been starting the day without a real list, but with the attitude of trying to get as much done that day as I am able. This "Choose your own adventure" (Us scientists like to call them dichotomous keys) has guided how I approach my non-existent to-do list. At the end of the day I find I am able to look back and have a good number of things done.

So here you have it:

A choose your own adventure in getting things done that weren’t on your list.


#1) You see or think of a task that needs to be done.   Can you do it now?    Yes - go to #2. No- go to#3

#2) Don’t delay! Do it now! ~

#3) Why can’t you do it? If something else must be done before you can tackle this particular task, then go to #4. If you don’t have time- go to #5. If you don’t feel like it, throw your feelings out the door & pick one of the other two options. 

#4) Can you do that other task now? Yes -go to #2. No- go to #3

#5) You don’t have the time because: The task takes more time than you have right now – go to #6. If you are in the middle of something else- go to # 9.

#6) Do you have your schedule or paper handy? Yes- go to #7. No- go to #8.

#7) Yes! You always carry your schedule or paper with you. Write in the task that needs to be done in an appropriate time slot. ~

#8) No! You’re not one to have paper or scheduling devices handy. You need to either get it and write down the task, or (less desirable) make a mental note.~

#9) You are in the middle of something else. Is your current activity more important than the new task? (eg. - are you entertaining a baby? Or watching a TV show?) Yes- go to #10. No- go to #12

#10) Can you pause your activity? Yes- go to #6. No- go to #11

#11) Carry on with that very important activity! ~

#12) The activity isn’t as important as the task, so the task should be your first priority. However, does your current activity really need to be done? Yes- go to #13. No- go to #16

#13) Do you have paper/schedule book? Yes- to got #14. No- go to #15

#14) Write down your activity so you can remember to do it later, and start the new task. ~

#15) Get paper & write the activity down for later, or make a mental note, and start the new task. ~

#16) Drop whatever you were wasting time on & start the new task! ~

Fingers

My fingers have always been important to me. When I  was younger, my fingers and I learned how to play music on the piano and violin. We practiced hard, and got quite good at what we do. I started painting when I was a teen, and it was my fingers that held the brush. Throughout my education, my fingers have typed many words on a computer's keyboard, trying frantically to keep up with my train of thought. They are typing now, as I write, though this time only one hand's worth of fingers at a time, while the other hand's worth of fingers craddles DJ's head. I've used my fingers to knit and crochet, to grasp the whisk as I mix cake batter, to proudly announce my engagemant with a diamond ring. It was my itchy fingers that sent me to the doctor when DJ needed to be born early, and it's my fingers he prefers for comfort over a pacifier.

What do your fingers do?

True calling.

"One finds their true calling where their talents intersect with the greatest needs in the world."

There is a great need in the world today for strong Christians in every walk of life- business, medicine, agriculture, politics, just to name a few.

I believe I have talent in many areas, but many of them center around making a house into a home, such as my crafting, working in the kitchen, making music, and learning.

This is why my true calling is to be a wife and mother. This is why I want to have a large family- the potential to place more godly men & women in more avenues of life. This is why I'm dedicated to raising this little guy to love the Lord with all his heart.






Where does YOUR true calling lie?

Baby, Baby!

Our son David Douglas (DJ for simplicity's sake) is here! In fact, he's been here for 10 weeks already. My how time flies.

He's only a day old in this picture, chillin' on the quilt Grandma M made, wearing the coming home outfit that I knit for him.

He was supposed to be a July baby, but he ended up coming on June 22- my doctor induced me early, because my liver started doing funny things, and due to the high risk of still birth (Yikes!) they wanted him out A.S.A.P. once they confirmed my condition.

But all that was a long but fast 10 weeks ago.

A picture at 5w2d. Wide eyed & looking at mommy. That outfit doesn't fit him anymore- he's too long for it!

DJ & mommy in Philadelphia

At 7 weeks we went on a family vaccation, visiting Carbondale IL for a friend's wedding, Nashville on our way to Lynchbutg VA for a week, then Philadelphia & New York before heading home.

Our family by the Liberty Bell

Life is busier then ever, and I am being forced to learn how to make ever moment count, which will be a great blessing in the long term. I'm loving all the new, callanging, and sometimes frightening moments as they come. Here's to being a mom!

The Blessings of Being Pregnant

Sugar gives me heartburn. Not spicy food, not eating too much, just sugar. I had two donuts this afternoon, and I am paying for it now...

I figured this out most clearly when I went in for my gestational diabetes test this last week. They had me drink about 350 ml of pure sugar water (a certain combination of dextrose and glucose and other sugars) within 5 minutes, ( I chugged it, cause the sooner I finished the sooner they could start timing) and then exactly an hour later they drew blood for lab work. That's all that was in my stomach that whole hour... just a mere 350 ml of liquid sugar, and it gave me heartburn. 

I really don't have much to complain about though. Of all the major complaints that people have about later on in pregnancy, such as heartburn, not very good sleeps, jabs to the ribs, tap dancing on the bladder, well, it hasn't been that bad for me. Tomorrow will mark the fact that I am unmistakably in the third trimester, so I suppose that could start to change things. ( I'll be 28 weeks then... although I'd almost say 26 weeks counts for second tri... depends on how you divide things up!) I rarely eat anything sugary, and I've hardly ever gotten heartburn this whole pregnancy. Baby Goo moves, and is plenty active, but only jabs in ways that hurt if I haven't been that active that day. (Sitting on the couch for extended periods of time isn't a good idea. I get jabbed in the ribs!) So long as I've been working in the garden, or going for a run, or working out using the Wii fit... Baby Goo is quite happy to be calm and kick gently. (Most of the time it just tickles!) It's great motivation to stay in motion!  I honestly hadn't felt any distinct kicks to my bladder until today. So far, it's not too bad... but I imagine it could get worse. :) As for not being able to sleep, God has blessed us with an amazing Tempur-Pedic memory foam bed, and the only complaint I am starting to have with it is because it is a king size! It comes in two twins joined to make the king, leaving us with a small crack between the halves of the bed. I used to be able to sleep on the crack (and close to my husband on his side of the bed) with no problem... but now I've got to choose: sleep comfortably, or sleep next to D!  He's been great about letting me sleep on my side and him coming over to the middle to cuddle for a while...

As you can see, I have plenty of physical blessings to count in this pregnancy. I've been able to run almost weekly for the last month or so, and have been so enjoying how good I feel afterwards. D and I actually registered for our first 5k together! It will be the beginning of May. I am so blessed! I hope to come back and read this blog post on my rougher days of pregnancy that I will undoubtedly face, and be reminded of how beautiful of a miracle pregnancy is, and how wonderfully easy of a journey I have been blessed with.

Count your blessings!