Hello world,
How do you find energy when you're giving 110% at work for close to 12 hours 5 days a week?? At least my house for the most part is staying clean. The work out isn't working... I'm tired by the time I get home and waking up early to work out... Well... I can just go ahead and tell you No, that's not going to happen. My alarm already goes off at 5:45 so I can start my un-girly morning routine and leave for school in 45 minutes. And I'm a morning person. Not an early morning person. I wake up naturally in the 8 o'clock range. 5's and 6's aren't my friend. ;-) But back to that work out thing... I really feel I'm just going to have to bite and push through the tiredness... the question then becomes when will that happen. Writing this stuff down like this, honestly, makes me feel like a pansy! I'm going to figure this out... I'll keep you updated.
Life's too short to have too much stuff,
Sandy
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Friday, August 26, 2011
week 1 - setting goals
Hello world,
Life is getting settled and it feels good. School started and we have finished our first week. It has been one long week, but a really good one! This has been the best first week yet! I'm really excited about the year and everything that we have planned. It's been great. In band we are talking about Goals and how there are long term and short term goals. There was this cool article I read on mindtools.com and am using their SMART Goals. I even made a bulletin board out of it! The SMART goals are Specific Measurable Attainable Rewarding Trackable. There were other words you could use, we just used those because they went along with the activity we are doing this year.
I'm going to apply my own teaching to my life. I'm making a SMART goal for myself. I haven't worked out yet, but my workout buddy and I have made plans to start next week. My SMART goal for the week is to workout at least 2 days during the week and for 30 minutes each day. I'm going to start off small and attainable.
Eating healthier is going to help with this. I'm not really a breakfast person. Just can't really eat in the morning. But I know that if I'm going to help speed up my metabolism then I need to start eating breakfast. I am happy to report that I have eaten breakfast every day this week and I've had more energy at school this week than any other. So that's cool! Also, I have been eating (with the help of my husband) healthier lunches and we've been cooking dinner more often.
The house has stayed pretty clean and that's great. Especially with help from Robert, it's been great living here. (Minus the fact that the apartment is falling down around us.) The idea of living in a clutter free one bedroom apartment is nice. :-) I just need to figure out how to get the laundry fairy to do the laundry instead of eating the socks.... Hah! Good luck with your own SMART goals if you so choose to make one! ;-)
Life's too short to have too much stuff,
Sandy
Life is getting settled and it feels good. School started and we have finished our first week. It has been one long week, but a really good one! This has been the best first week yet! I'm really excited about the year and everything that we have planned. It's been great. In band we are talking about Goals and how there are long term and short term goals. There was this cool article I read on mindtools.com and am using their SMART Goals. I even made a bulletin board out of it! The SMART goals are Specific Measurable Attainable Rewarding Trackable. There were other words you could use, we just used those because they went along with the activity we are doing this year.
I'm going to apply my own teaching to my life. I'm making a SMART goal for myself. I haven't worked out yet, but my workout buddy and I have made plans to start next week. My SMART goal for the week is to workout at least 2 days during the week and for 30 minutes each day. I'm going to start off small and attainable.
Eating healthier is going to help with this. I'm not really a breakfast person. Just can't really eat in the morning. But I know that if I'm going to help speed up my metabolism then I need to start eating breakfast. I am happy to report that I have eaten breakfast every day this week and I've had more energy at school this week than any other. So that's cool! Also, I have been eating (with the help of my husband) healthier lunches and we've been cooking dinner more often.
The house has stayed pretty clean and that's great. Especially with help from Robert, it's been great living here. (Minus the fact that the apartment is falling down around us.) The idea of living in a clutter free one bedroom apartment is nice. :-) I just need to figure out how to get the laundry fairy to do the laundry instead of eating the socks.... Hah! Good luck with your own SMART goals if you so choose to make one! ;-)
Life's too short to have too much stuff,
Sandy
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
it's the small victories
Hello world,
It's the time of instant gratification. I struggle with this as a teacher, motivating my students to keep pushing! Anything worth achieving takes time and dedication! Without realizing it, I got sucked up into the frame of thought that it has to happen RIGHT NOW! Sticking to eating better and exercising is hard because there isn't instant gratification. Last month, I went to a friend's new place to check out the new digs and I wanted to look cute. So I put on my school pants for the first time since school let out. And they wouldn't even close. I was devastated! And that was even after I had been trying to lose weight and consciously watching what I eat and drink. And they didn't fit!! I had a good time that night anyways. Being around great friends is always a fix to any bad day. :)
There's good news though. I have pretty much eliminated sodas and other sugary drinks from my everyday life. I also have been trying to cook more and better food. We used to eat out a lot. I mean a lot. A ridiculous amount really. But anyways, staying on track and eating healthier food and drinking pretty much nothing but water and lime juice, I am happy to tell you that today I wore those pants to school today and they weren't even tight, they weren't loose, but they weren't tight. :-) Now if I can only get the exercise on board...
Motivation. How to find it?? I'm still working on that one. My friend is moving down the street from me and is excited to be my work out buddy. I'm hoping power in numbers will help me. It helped before and I stuck to it and lost weight. It's not like I haven't done this before or not know what to do... I just need to start. If I can make it through 2 weeks and continue that next day, I think I will be good to go. I'm excited and I think this will be a good thing.
Bottom line, I'm feeling better; inside and out. Life is good and I can't complain. School is starting out great. My house is clean and organized and not crowded. My husband is awesome. My dog is cute. And my belly is full. I feel like I'm finally living a life that I can thrive with. :-) Let's just keep this up!
Life's too short to have too much stuff,
Sandy
It's the time of instant gratification. I struggle with this as a teacher, motivating my students to keep pushing! Anything worth achieving takes time and dedication! Without realizing it, I got sucked up into the frame of thought that it has to happen RIGHT NOW! Sticking to eating better and exercising is hard because there isn't instant gratification. Last month, I went to a friend's new place to check out the new digs and I wanted to look cute. So I put on my school pants for the first time since school let out. And they wouldn't even close. I was devastated! And that was even after I had been trying to lose weight and consciously watching what I eat and drink. And they didn't fit!! I had a good time that night anyways. Being around great friends is always a fix to any bad day. :)
There's good news though. I have pretty much eliminated sodas and other sugary drinks from my everyday life. I also have been trying to cook more and better food. We used to eat out a lot. I mean a lot. A ridiculous amount really. But anyways, staying on track and eating healthier food and drinking pretty much nothing but water and lime juice, I am happy to tell you that today I wore those pants to school today and they weren't even tight, they weren't loose, but they weren't tight. :-) Now if I can only get the exercise on board...
Motivation. How to find it?? I'm still working on that one. My friend is moving down the street from me and is excited to be my work out buddy. I'm hoping power in numbers will help me. It helped before and I stuck to it and lost weight. It's not like I haven't done this before or not know what to do... I just need to start. If I can make it through 2 weeks and continue that next day, I think I will be good to go. I'm excited and I think this will be a good thing.
Bottom line, I'm feeling better; inside and out. Life is good and I can't complain. School is starting out great. My house is clean and organized and not crowded. My husband is awesome. My dog is cute. And my belly is full. I feel like I'm finally living a life that I can thrive with. :-) Let's just keep this up!
Life's too short to have too much stuff,
Sandy
Sunday, August 14, 2011
homey feeling
Hello world,
Life is going good. My home is feeling better and better everyday! I wanted to show you some pictures.
Life is going good. My home is feeling better and better everyday! I wanted to show you some pictures.
Here is our new bedroom furniture. Sorry for the weird glare - that's from the globes in the fan. We still need some art for the walls, but that will just have to wait.
For extra storage in our little apartment I like utilize hooks! I have tons of nails and hooks on/in my closet. It's off the floor and there is a place for everything!
Here is the new couch and the family. Without the new picture.
Here is the new couch with the new picture! We got this awesome picture from my Dad's warehouse. He has all kinds of stuff for home decoration. I also want to get some sort of small skinny candle features to hang on either side of the picture.
Here is the bookshelf. It doubles as the office area as well. There is some decoration at the top.
I'm trying to highlight the reds in the room more. I think throw pillows for the couch and perhaps different curtains will help me with that. The curtains blend into the wall... I don't like that...
Do you like Prissy Dog's big ole' bed?? So does she! ;-)
This was the DVD rack we got from my Dad's warehouse. They also have a lot of furniture!
All of the DVD's were on the bookshelf, and it was way too over crowded. I didn't want to get rid of anything. This DVD rack was perfect. It fits behind the door and even gives us a place to put our shoes! Above more hooks! To hold leashes, hats, and keys. The cube on the floor is where we keep all of Prissy's treats and medicines.
Here is our pantry. Another bookshelf I got from my Dad's warehouse. I really like it the bookshelf. It is an A frame bookshelf that just fits perfectly. We didn't get a pantry with this apartment so we made our own. The food was just all over the counter tops in the kitchen. Now we have more room in the kitchen! :)
The only thing left to fix up is the table. Right now it's kind of a catch all for all of our old office stuff. I'm working on a project for school that is using the computer. But I'm almost done with it and then we can get rid of most of the stuff on the table.
In the bathroom I have my toiletries organized in this gardening bag I got from the dollar store. It's just tacked on to the wall. It keeps everything off the counter tops and it's easy to find. The jewelry boxes are in there only because I don't have room for them in my bedroom. That's where they used to live. I have my jewelry hanging on hooks behind the door.
To make more room WalMart (I'm sure other places too) have things you can stick on the mirror. That's what we are using to hold our toothbrushes and toothpaste.
A few more things that I want to do is get baskets for the entertainment center to hide as much stuff as I can. Then hang the TV on the wall so I can move the cable box and the PS3 to the top giving me more room to spread out my office stuff.
I also want to find an end table that doubles as a two drawer filing cabinet that locks and that looks decorative for the living room. Right now our filing cabinet is in the closet and we have a hard time getting to it. And mail is piling up on the table... That has got to stop!
The apartment is staying clean, but I've only gone to school for two days. So we will see how long it lasts. It definitely is easier to keep a 1 bedroom apartment clean than the two bedroom. :-) Good luck with your organizing and decluttering!
Life's too short to have too much stuff,
Sandy
Thursday, August 11, 2011
school is starting
Hello World!
Life in a decluttered apartment is super nice. And I definitely recommend a decluttered life to anyone! It's been the summer so I feel it has been pretty easy to keep up with the house cleaning and such. School started today for me, so we will see how easy it is to keep up with everything. I'm not lazy at school, but school makes me lazy at home!
There are still things that need to be done around the place before I will feel its 100% complete, but the stuff we've done so far makes me happy. I feel we are making good progress, especially since most of the stuff I want is going to cost some money... haha. That's just beside the point. We got a new couch! And the stuff I had set aside for school and my dad's warehouse are gone! So now it feels even less cluttered and more spacious! If I can only do something with our old old computer... I still need it, but it just takes up a lot of space! Grrr! There is no "office area" in the new apartment.
I'm also looking to get cloth baskets for my entertainment center, mostly to hide the things that go there. I feel baskets and cloth drawers are a nice decorative way to hide things - not a place to be a catch all though. BUT - I also feel everyone needs a junk drawer. Because sometimes you just don't know where to put something. And besides - it's like going treasure hunting every time you go in there, because you never really know what you'll find! And that's only if it's a true junk drawer!
Well people - wish all of the teachers and students luck as we kick off this 2011-2012 school year! Things are changing for all of us, and I just hope that it's for the better.
Life's too short to have too much stuff,
Sandy
Life in a decluttered apartment is super nice. And I definitely recommend a decluttered life to anyone! It's been the summer so I feel it has been pretty easy to keep up with the house cleaning and such. School started today for me, so we will see how easy it is to keep up with everything. I'm not lazy at school, but school makes me lazy at home!
There are still things that need to be done around the place before I will feel its 100% complete, but the stuff we've done so far makes me happy. I feel we are making good progress, especially since most of the stuff I want is going to cost some money... haha. That's just beside the point. We got a new couch! And the stuff I had set aside for school and my dad's warehouse are gone! So now it feels even less cluttered and more spacious! If I can only do something with our old old computer... I still need it, but it just takes up a lot of space! Grrr! There is no "office area" in the new apartment.
I'm also looking to get cloth baskets for my entertainment center, mostly to hide the things that go there. I feel baskets and cloth drawers are a nice decorative way to hide things - not a place to be a catch all though. BUT - I also feel everyone needs a junk drawer. Because sometimes you just don't know where to put something. And besides - it's like going treasure hunting every time you go in there, because you never really know what you'll find! And that's only if it's a true junk drawer!
Well people - wish all of the teachers and students luck as we kick off this 2011-2012 school year! Things are changing for all of us, and I just hope that it's for the better.
Life's too short to have too much stuff,
Sandy
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