This Year I'm Gonna Be A Swoosh

Friday I took a look back at how my year had gone. Some really big ups and a few downs, but overall a good year. My biggest disappointment was how poorly I did with my word of the year thing.

Looking at it, I didn't do as badly as I originally thought. I didn't lose any weight, which is probably the actual  biggest disappointment from the year, but I am eating a little healthier. My self-image is definitely better. I took steps to reach out a meet a few more people and fulfill some social needs that had been lacking. My house is also in much better shape than it was a year ago. Not perfect, but not awful either.

Even though it didn't go as planned, I'm not quite ready to give up on the yearly concept idea. (That's the idea that instead of resolutions you pick a theme for your year. Then you try to keep that theme in mind as you make your decisions. You can read more details about the concept in last year's post.)

So, may I have a drumroll please? (You'll have to provide your own. I hate background sounds on webpages. Although, if you just really want to hear one you can try this video.)

This year's theme is...

Yep. I'm gonna be a swoosh. Taking Nike's slogan and making it my own.

It's ironic really because I can't wear a Nike shoe for anything, but they make lots of other athletic stuff that I like.

It's not one word, but it is one concept, and I think that still fits with the yearly word idea.

Why This Theme?

I am notorious for procrastinating. In fact, I am writing this blog about eight hours before it's supposed to post. Not the closest I've ever cut it, but closer than I'd like.

My house is full of piles I've made with the intent of doing them all at once. For instance, there's a pile of bills (paid, just in case you're wondering) that I still have to scan and file. Instead of running them through the scanner which takes about 5 seconds - I have an autofeed scanner - I let them pile up.

Under my new slogan, I'll scan that puppy as soon as I write paid across the top.

My life is full of that kind of thinking. It means that things end up getting done late or barely getting done or maybe even not getting done at all.

I make plans like you wouldn't believe. They rarely get done, because I make very ambitious plans and then procrastinate the things that would let me accomplish them.

So this year, I'll just do it.

Get a great blog post idea? Write and schedule the article then (unless, of course, I'm on my way out the door or driving or something). No more sticking it on a post it note and then watching some television.

Find something that belongs in another room? Go put it away (unless, of course, there are sleeping children in said room.)

I'm noticing a pattern of exceptions, but no one ever said life was simple. Or maybe they did. But if they did they were wrong.

What about you?

So that's my plan. What about you? Do you make resolutions? Prescribe to the yearly theme idea? Have a plan for making yourself better this year?

It's A Wonderful Year ~ 2012 in Review

It's been a great year. I can't believe it's my last post of the year.

I thought I would leave you with some highlights of 2012.

From my blog:

The top two posts of 2012 were Should You Quit While You're Ahead (I'm pretty sure my mentions of popular Olympians at the time brought that one a little more traffic) and my post about The Screwtape Letters.

 When I went looking for my top-viewed posts, I wasn't expecting it to be these. Neither one garnered the most comments or link backs. Those honors go to The Society of Judgement fifth Tuesday rant, I Want to Make Someone Miserable, and a discussion on whether or not you believe in miracles. 

I'm really happy with my blogging this year. I learned a lot that will hopefully make next year even better. 


In my writing:

I joined forces with a group of wonderful writers to start Regency Reflections, a blog for the inspirational Regency reader. We've been having a fabulous time exploring history and books over there.

My third place finish in the Maggies was also a highlight, along with meeting the amazing writer, Julia Quinn.

The progress I have made as a writer this year is just amazing. When I think of where I was a year ago and where I am today, I am stunned by how much I've progressed. This writing business is hard work! It's true that anyone can write a book, but not just anyone can make it one you'd want to read.

In my life:

At the beginning of the year I started this whole word for the year thing. My word was Healthy. I didn't embrace it very well. I thought about it a lot and I think mentally, emotionally, and spiritually I am a lot healthier than I was a year ago. Physically however, I didn't make much progress.


How about you? What were your milestones this year? Share your highlights in the comments.

Background Stress ~ Life Lessons from a Mobile Phone Battery

Mobile phones have become essential to many people's daily lives. Many people have even stopped home phone service because their mobiles have become the only phone they use. Now, smartphones and expansive data packages have increased the amount of attention we pay to our phones.

See how far phones have come in this
display of Ericson cellphone.
Picture from Wikimedia Commons

The first cell phone my family got was actually a car phone. It was semi-permanently mounted in the car. Taking it out required a large battery compartment that you carried around in a bag. Now my phone is semi-permanently attached to my body.

It's caused me to notice something recently.

The battery life has suddenly decreased dramatically.

Phones are so much more than phones now. I play games, check email, text, control my computer remotely, listen to music, use it as an alarm clock, read books, and, oh yeah, make phone calls. All of that means my phone is, or at least feels, essential to me. When it dies, I feel very lost, so this shortened battery life is very concerning.

I set out to discover why my battery was suddenly dying in the middle of the afternoon instead of making it well into the evening. It turned out two applications I had recently loaded were doing some extensive work in the background. Even when I wasn't using them, they were sucking up my phone's resources.

Life is like a phone. When we're young, life seems so much simpler. Most of the time there was only one thing to focus on. Our most difficult decision in a day might be whether Barbie wanted to ride her horse or drive in her car. The older we get, the more hats we put into our repertoire.

I look around now and realize I'm a wife, a mother, a writer, a minister, a daughter... the list goes on and on. I'm not sure I could even make a comprehensive list of all the roles I play sometimes.

Wikimedia Commons

What I've noticed is that sometimes these roles will drain my strength and energy even when I'm not focusing on them. I could be playing a game with my children and part of my mind is thinking about an upcoming church event. Or I'm working on my book and have to stop to write an email to a family member that just keeps niggling at my mind.

A game I play once every other day or so was taking up so much of my phone that at times I couldn't make a phone call or take a picture because the battery had gotten so low. Stress, worry, and a host of other issues related with stretching yourself through life can pull at you until there's nothing left to give whatever is in front of you at that moment.

In 1 Peter 5:7 God commands us to cast all our cares upon Him. God's battery is unlimited. He is uniquely able to carry all of your issues without losing strength, hope, or focus.

What is it for you? Are you thinking about work instead of focusing on a conversation with your spouse? Is waiting for test results (whether your own or a family member's) affecting your ability to worship?

I've changed the settings on that game so that it only runs when I'm actually playing it. What settings do you need to change in your life?

Clearing Out and Cleaning Up

My house is more upside down than normal right now, but it's gong to be worth it.

In one week I'll cart a van full of stuff of to a consignment sale. It's a win-win! I clear some stuff out of my house AND get paid for it!

One thing I've noticed, for me at least, is that when I'm clearing things out or organizing, things get a lot messier before they get cleaner. Right now my living room looks like it could be a consignment store in its own right.

Clothes are thrown over all the furniture, unused toys are stacked by the fireplace, and supplies and other accouterments cover most every other available surface.

When it's all said and done though, it will be nice to have all of this stuff out of my house. Clutter makes it hard to clean, hard to find things, and hard to store other things that we actually use and want to keep. So while I'm tired of the mess, I'm excited about the outcome.

Have you ever cleaned out for a yard sale or just a big donation run? What was the best part?

Show and Tell Time!

If you read Friday's post, you saw that I had an epiphany about stress in my life and how I was clinging to it as both an excuse and a motivator.

No more, my friends! This weekend, with the help of my fabulous hubby, we have been tackling projects around the house to relieve stress and increase organization and potential productivity.

Want proof? Just look below. It's time for some show and tell, class.

Exhibit A: The Brown Chair You Can Sit In

Why is this impressive? Because we haven't been able to sit it in since the middle of July. It's where I've been piling the clean laundry and we've been digging through it. Now? You can sit in it and kick your feet up. Which is good. Because it's one of the most comfortable chairs in the house.

Exhibit B: My New Dress

Yes, amongst the myriad of household makeoverness I found time to go shopping. Behold, the dress I shall be wearing to the banquet at the Moonlight and Magnolias conference where the winners of the Maggies will be announced. Even if I don't win, I'll be up on stage. I would like to look nice. 

Reason this is impressive? Banquet is, get ready for it, an entire month away. Take that procrastination!

   

Exhibit C: The Top of My Dryer

Please note the absence of various laundry type clutter such as the detergent and dryer sheets. Those are now at home in a new laundry cart between the washer and the dryer. Also absent? The mounds of lint kangaroos (they're bigger than bunnies but still hop) and strange sticky unknown substances that make you wonder if the clothes come out of the laundry dirtier than they went in. 

The best part? I can now return to my habit of taking the clothes from the dryer and folding them on top of the dryer for immediate put away. 

Exhibit D:The Almost Empty Cabinet

This one was really all my hubby, but I'm still counting it because it's a biggie. Notice the vast emptiness on both of these shelves. The last vestiges of baby food (stockpile baby cereal) have left the house. What was out of date hit the trash can. Everything else went into the car to go to the food pantry Wednesday. Win-win.  Now there's room to organize the rest of the cabinets.    

Exhibit E: The Carpet In My Writing Area

Probably the most impressive picture in this collection. This is the carpet in my writing area. It's pretty much all of it. My writing area is rather small. Which is probably why the area was full of papers, reference books, notebooks, a blanket, piles of DVDs, and various office supplies. Like Post-its. Yeah. 

Now they are all neatly stored in an end table cabinet directly behind me. (It's really difficult to explain the layout of our living room. It just works. Trust me.)

I vacuumed this area for the first time in about three months. Oh yeah. 

There were numerous other accomplishments this weekend, but many of those are in my children's rooms. And they're asleep. So I can't get pictures because I didn't do this blog until the... last... minute...

Oh well. I suppose there's still room for improvement on the anti-procrastination train. 

How about you? Did you accomplish anything fabulous this weekend? 

The Lure of Free

This is a "thinking out loud" kind of post, so it's a bit rambly. My apologies. 

Do you download free e-books? Take free samples at the store? What is it about "free" stuff that makes us so giddy?

I was reminded this week that sometimes you get what you pay for. Free e-books are a big draw for me. I download several a week. Yesterday I started reading one and couldn't make it past the third page. It was pretty clear that the author had rushed the book to self-publication without having it edited by, well, anyone. It switched back and forth from past to present tense, the name of one of the characters changed, and in general the book was a bit hapless.

So I downloaded a different free book.

What makes the word "free" such a draw for us? I am so guilty of picking things up just because they were free, even though I didn't need them, want them, or have any use for them. They were free, so I took them. Just in case.

I sometimes think it's the laziness that makes us want something for nothing, until I see people willing to stand in line for hours to get the free gift for the first 100 customers at an after Thanksgiving sale. Most of the time if you divide the value of the item by the number of hours spent waiting or working for it, the person made less than minimum wage.

But it was free.

Or was it? I think we need to adjust our gauge of what is "free". Too many of us think about only the money aspect. Do we value our time so little? Our friendships?

I have friends that I have hidden on Facebook because they were constantly bombarding me with requests from little Facebook games to come join in the play. If you haven't ever played one of these games, to advance you have to collect certain items - a cow, paint, whatever - and you can either buy these items or get them for free by sending friend requests to people.

So the virtual item is free at the expense of driving your friends insane with more Facebook game requests.

I challenge you to adjust your definition of "free". Will it clutter up your home, stealing your peace of mind and comfort? Will it distract you from what you really enjoy? Will it require you to invest large amounts of time for a reward you don't really want? (Like Free Puppies. That sign always makes me laugh. That puppy is anything but free!)

Remember that more things in life have value than just money.

What is something you got for free that was more hassle than it was worth?

May Update ~ A Peek At My Life

A to Z is over... and yet, I didn't get a day off because it's Tuesday. Sigh. Oh well, at least I have the entire alphabet back at my disposal.

For those readers we picked up over the challenge, my normal posting schedule is Tuesdays (variety of things such as book reviews, discussion questions, etc.) and Fridays (my life lessons series like I did during the challenge).

It's been a long time since I updated you on my "Word of the Year" progress. (You can read about my decision to focus on the word "Healthy" this year here.)

Physical Health

I started (finally!) Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. A. Ma. Zing. I'm stunned at the progress I made strength-wise in just two weeks. (I can do an actual push-up! Just one, but still! When I started I couldn't even do a full one with my knees on the floor. Yes, my upper body is that weak.) I dropped a whole jean size as well. My recent ailment kinda knocked me off track, but I'm getting back on today. 

I also managed to make and stick to a menu for one... whole... week... Hey, it's progress! :)

Spiritual Health

Dear Hubby's work hours have changed and that means we actually get to see each other in the morning. (Praise God!) and we've been reading the Bible together before we get up. It's been a great way to start the day. It has helped me remember to do my personal quiet time as well. Bonus! 

Unfortunately those are the only two of my goal areas that I made any serious progress in over the last couple of months. In May I hope to focus on getting us on a balanced budget and more prepared for coming events so I'm not rushing around the night before, or worse the morning of, getting everything together. 

Other Updates

In other news, I have an exciting update as far as my writing goes! The American Christian Fiction Writers have an unpublished authors competition. During the month of April I learned that my manuscript made it to the semi-finals. Woohoo! 

Your Turn

Did you make a Word-Of-The-Year resolution? How's it going? It's not too late to choose a word if you have never heard of the concept before. Making necessary adjustments to our mindsets is a year-long process! 

What kind of progress are you making? 

Redefining Success ~ A Peek At My One Word Progress

It's March. That is total madness (ha! I'm so funny!)

But seriously, how can it be March? It seems like only yesterday I was getting ready for Valentine's Day and now BOOM, it's shamrocks and leprechauns. We don't really celebrate St. Patrick's Day at my house, but still.  It's March. Which means it's time to take a look and see where I'm at in making my life a little bit healthier. I don't think this is going to be pretty...

You can read January's recap here.

February Recap


Let's start by looking back at what I hoped to accomplish in February. As a recap, here were my goals:




Goals for the Month
     - Stick to Weight Watchers program
     - Begin a morning Pilates habit
     - Track my spending
     - Begin purging my house of un-needed items
     - Extend my morning Bible time to include more prayer time.


Goal Accomplishments for the Month


    - I did not get back on Weight Watchers. I will be canceling my subscription. I will not waste money on something I'm not using.

    - Did not start Pilates habit, but I HAVE been getting some workouts in, so I'll count that as a plus.


    - Have not tracked my spending or set up the March budget (at the time of writing this which is actually March 1. Hopefully I will have done this by the time this actually posts.)

     - I HAVE begun the purging process!  I sent around 250 items out of my house. They either went to a local consignment sale (Yea! Check coming soon!) or they went to charity. It felt great!  I also managed to give away several items as part of the Valentine's Banquet at church... we played Let's Make A Deal.

     - My morning Bible reading is going well. I actually finished a devotional plan and have moved on to reading the entire Bible in chronological order. That's going to take me a couple of years, at least. I am focusing more on prayer and that is making life better.

Other Accomplishments for the Month

 
  - I did move forward in my goal to become a published author by entering my latest manuscript into a contest. Judging on that will begin soon, so please pray for me!

     - I started a blog with several other Inspirational Regency authors. If you haven't checked it out yet, go to Regency Reflections today!

     - I rearranged my living room. While this may seem minor to you, it is HUGE to me.

     - I did not gain any weight. I have actually lost a couple of pounds despite my inattention to my Weight Watchers tracking program.

    - I schlepped my daughter around to numerous doctor's appointments. Aside from the glasses saga, which you can find out about here, here, and here, we have also had a couple of trips to the allergist to discover she's allergic to milk. Fun. Have you ever realized how much stuff has milk in it?!?

     - I have taken the time to play games, build castles, and cuddle more with my children. This is something that I had been neglecting. I think many stay-at-home moms do. The curse of the familiar.


This is not what I would consider a hugely successful month, BUT I have to look at what I have managed to accomplish and know that things can and will get better. If I only dwell on what I managed to miss, I'll become quite depressed.

March Plan

And so we move on to March, because I can't go back and change February. What does it mean to be healthy? I'm trying to go back to the essence of my word for the year and not get hung up on little new years type goals every month. I know we have a very large church event this month that is going to take up a lot of my time, so I need to plan accordingly.

My Goals for the Month

     - Get my taxes done. I don't want to wait until the April deadline is looming over me.

     - Work out at least three times a week. Five would be preferable. Seven would be awesome.

     - Make a budget. Stick to it.

     - Start a purge pile for a yard sale in April.

     - Read at least one book a day with my kids.

     - Have a date with my husband. We haven't gone out just the two of us in a really long time.




Your turn!!! How is your year shaping up? If you could change anything from this point forward, what would it be?

A Peek At My Yearly Progress

It's February which means the date now starts with a two which means that an entire month of the year has gone by. It is now time to see how well I'm doing on my resolution to focus on getting Healthy. (If you missed my post about choosing this as my Word of the Year, it's here.)

January Recap

In the month of January, I planned to start with Physical health. I joined Weight Watchers, set up my new fitness programs, and downloaded an alarm app on my phone in which I have to do math problems in order to make it shut up. If you are wondering what the alarm has to do with anything, I'll get to that in a second.

Image: David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

My Goals for the Month
In the month of January I wanted to:
    - Join Weight Watchers Online
    - Stick with Weight Watchers program
    - Start exercising
    - Eat more fresh fruits and veggies

My Accomplishments for the Month
Here's what actually happened in the month of January:
    - Joined Weight Watchers Online
    - Diligently tracked my points for two weeks
    - Lost track during the monthly "Give Me Chocolate" saga
    - Half-tracked ever since. Oops.

    - Started exercising.
    - Started the Nine Week Workout program on my new EA Active 2 for the Wii (Love this by the way)
    - Missed Day 4
    - Haven't been back on. Oops.

    - Bought produce saving containers that I knew worked because my mom has some
    - Bought lots of produce and washed and prepped it and stored it in the containers
    - Ate the fruits and veggies
    - Repeated process. Yea!

    - Had a major breakthrough in Spiritual Health that I wasn't expecting. I'm sure I will share it here when God tells me the time is right to do so.
    - Have not missed my morning Bible reading time in two weeks. Awesome!


So the month was some good, some bad, but overall not a total loss. I have lost five pounds, which is a really good thing. I had that unexpected revelation which is an awesome thing. And I discovered am amazing ability to fall asleep in moments, which is just a weird thing.

Image: Paul / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I downloaded an alarm clock app to my phone that would require me to work math problems because I figured that would force me to wake up when the alarm went off. I am good at math, but I can't do it in my sleep. My theory worked. With one exception. I can apparently wake up, do two math problems, and then fall back asleep almost instantly. My plan to get up and work out before my children awaken isn't going so smoothly.





February Plan

And now month two has begun. The beauty of focusing on one word is that I don't feel I have failed. While I did not accomplish all of my goals, my life is healthier than it was four weeks ago. Now to focus on moving forward and becoming even healthier.

My Goals for the Month

Image: Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Here's what I want to do this month:
    - Stick to Weight Watchers program through the whole month
    - Begin a morning Pilates habit (Every time I've done these before I get fast results which should help spur me onward.)
    - Practice keeping track of my spending in preparation for creating a budget for March
    - Begin purging my house of un-needed items to let me focus on what I love
    - Extend my morning Bible time to include more prayer time

So, how's your word of the year coming along?

What's the good word?

When December started I was telling myself that this year I would NOT make New Year's Resolutions for one reason: I am notorious for setting huge goals for myself and then becoming literally depressed when I don't make them. I did not want to set myself up for that.

Then I read this post about focusing on a single word for the year in order to make changes in your life. I have since seen the concept in a few other posts attributing the idea to Debbie Macomber. I don't know who started it and really I don't think it matters. The point is that the idea is, in my opinion, a really good one.

The Concept

Here's the idea. Think hard about what you want to change in your life. Pick a word that encompasses the essence of that. For me, it came down to finding the root reason of why I wanted to change all the little things I could think of. Once you have that word, focus on it for the year. As you go about your daily life, keep that word in the front of your mind. Are the decisions you're making and the things you're doing helping you accomplish whatever that word means? 


It sounded simple and like something I could really do, so I'm giving it a go. 




The Plan
First, I had to come up with my word. After a lot of thought, I came up with this:

Healthy

Your first thought is probably that this is a redressing of the age old resolution to lose weight. Partly, yes it is. I do want to lose weight. I want to be physically healthier. I also want to be emotionally, socially, financially, and spiritually healthier.  

I'm hoping that by focusing on this word, when I want to hit snooze on the alarm clock one more time, I'll have to consider which is healthier - snoozing five more minutes or dragging myself out of bed to exercise? When I want to splurge on something, which is healthier - the short-lived happiness of a frivolous purchase or a well-stocked emergency fund? Is it healthier to fret about my problems or pray over them?

If this works, by this time next year, I'll be in a much better state all around.

The Accountability

photo by Gumuz (Flickr), CC-BY

I'm sure there is a statistic or study about this somewhere, but people stick to things better when someone is holding them accountable. This, my loyal readers, is where you come in. Every couple of weeks I am going to report on my word. What things have I done to make myself healthy? Where am I struggling? If you don't see this post from me, feel free to check on me. (Doesn't this cat look like it's about to jump out of the screen and get you?)

I invite you to join me in this adventure. Come up with a word and post it below. When I give you my update, you can throw in yours as well. We'll hold each other up and together we'll make better people by this time next year. 

So what's your word going to be this year?