The Summer Of ME Update #1

Greetings everyone!!

The Summer of ME had three parts to it; creating healthier habits, regaining control of my house, and reconnecting with my loved ones.  I have had only 20 or so days to work on these three aspects of my life, but I feel like I am making progress in all three areas.  Let me break it down for you…..

Creating Healthier Habits

There were two main aspects to this I was working toward; walking/exercise and eating healthier.  The walking/exercise part has been great.  I have made time for walking so it has an emphasis in my life.  (Walking–Who Knew)  There are no excuses.  It feels so good to get outside and relax.  We have even done a much better job of going for walks at the lake.  I have gone with my girls several times, in the morning and after we eat supper.  I have gone with our lake neighbors and we have had some really awesome mom time to chat, when there are no other little ears around.  This has me a little bit worried as to how I will deal with walking when the school year comes around, but we will worry about that later.  It’s only June…..

I told you the eating healthier part was much more of a challenge for me than the walking part.  I just love food so much!!  I had committed to trying two strategies to work on this; food journal and smaller portions.  The smaller portions has actually been easier than the food journal.  I just don’t eat so much, but I still get to try everything presented to me.  I actually have made a few conscious choices as well.  For example, I chose not to have bread on Saturday with our meal.  I did not need it, didn’t miss it, and there was plenty of other delicious items to have.  The food journal is just difficult.  It is difficult to write down everything you consume in a day.  I will work on that one.  Side note, I have also stopped drinking coca-cola during the day.  I may still have one in a drink at the lake….but I feel pretty good about stopping that habit.  One reader suggesting drinking lots of water.  While I don’t actually like drinking water, adding the flavor splashes from Mio or Crystal Light has made it easier.  So we are making some progress…..

Regaining Control of My House

In my blog post, Decluttering-Take 1, I told you how I felt we were overrun with STUFF!!!  STUFF that stressed me out.  We had successfully gone after the mud room closet, which I am proud to say, still looks wonderful.  It actually makes me smile when I walk past it.  Instead of tackling another room, the girls and I have been going through smaller spaces.  We have had a lot of activities running to and fro, so I did not want to start a project, I could not finish.  Instead we have cleaned out smaller spaces, which allows us to reorganize something else and it is kind of a snowball effect.  For example, as Harper is no longer wearing size 4 pants, we cleaned all of those out of her closet.  She has sooo many clothes!!  I was able to sell many of them on our Facebook swap and shop.  Then, since she had extra room in her closet, we cleaned out the size 5 tote and went through those pants.  She told me she would never wear jeans, only leggings, so I was able to get rid of some of those as well.  (Fashionista Diva if ever there was).  Once the tote was cleaned out, we were able to put some of the clutter from Hailey’s room into the tote and put the tote in her closet.  See…. snowball!!  We still have a ways to go, but I can feel and see progress and it is making me happy!!!!

Reconnecting With My People

This is the one making me feel guilty the most.  The other two are important to me, but not as important as the people I love.  The Summer of ME has made me slow down and be more present in my life.  I am learning how to let go of some things and regain the balance of what is important.  During the school year, I feel as if I am constantly telling my children to hurry up.  Get in the car!!  I have to get to work!!  How fun for my children to start her day with her mom yelling at them.  Plus, is my day at work going to be much different if I walk in at 7:52 compared to 7:56?  Have I ever wasted four minutes in the morning once I got to work……..yes.  Chances are, I will need to revisit this post myself once the school year comes around, but I feel some sort of balance right now, I certainly did not feel during the spring.  Now again, the spring was terrible and I used my two strategies to not freak out, literally daily.  But maybe taking some time to focus on myself and those around me, is causing the right kind of change……..

Challenge Time 

On Wednesday, June 6th, I launched Speaking Jelinese, starting with the Summer of ME.  It has been one of the most rewarding things I have done for MYSELF in a long time.  What I did not tell you is I cried about whether or not to do this hours before hitting the publish button.  My draft was done, my research on what to do was complete, but still I was extremely scared.  Writing things very personal to yourself is scary.  What if no one else thinks the way you do?  What if people think you are an idiot?

Turns out, people do think the same way and people struggle with the same things I struggle with every day.  Many people have asked or commented on the blog and it is rewarding to know something you have written was enjoyed by someone else.  I look forward to having many more conversations with you in the future.

Now for your challenge.  Have you been contemplating a new change or challenge in your life?  It could be big, like launching your own blog; or it could also be small, like going for a walk, if that’s not something you do regularly.  I want you to really ponder this new challenge.  If now is not the right time, I totally get it.  It was not the right time in my life for this challenge, until now.  Is there pre-planning you can do to get ready?  Could you make some contacts for when the time is right?  Just ponder the challenge and how scary it is and then realize, you can do it.  If a science teacher can write a blog, you can do it.  Then let me know what you are thinking.  What would your challenge be?  Perhaps others are thinking of the same thing.  Parents, teachers, really all of us; never give ourselves enough credit.  You are awesome people and you can take on that new challenge.  Just need to take the scary first step……

Please feel free to like and share this post or blog with those around you.  Maybe someone else is struggling with something we have already talked about.  My Facebook page, Speaking Jelinese, is also something you can like and share with your friends.   A community of people regaining balance is the goal.  Let’s build the community by sharing our struggles and rewards together!!

Thanks for reading!!

Angie