Ten Things Tuesdays: Habits for a Better Me

Sometimes we get stuck.  

Stuck in bad habits, faulty thinking and the moody blues.  

Burned out or burning the candle at both ends.  

Personally, during those times I tend to gravitate to all the things I know are bad for me.  Skipping the good habits and indulging in the less than good ones.  Recently, I've made some steps to get past this stuck place I've been in for a while.  

I keep making lists of things I KNOW I need to do, but don't!  So, maybe if I list them here, I will feel more accountable to myself.  

10 habits for a better me:

1.  Unplug more

I do a lot of work from the computer for school planning, but I also waste a lot of time after my kids go to bed watching depressing British detective murder mysteries.  (See #4)  This is one I struggle with the most, so I'm working out how I can practically do this.  

2.  Healthy diet

More fish, less sugar, more fruits and vegetables.  Making sure to eat a balanced breakfast.  

3.  Water

I'm a pretty good water drinker, but I need to make sure I'm staying on top of my intake.  It's very easy to overshoot how much we actually drink during the day, especially during the summer.  

4.  Sleep

Going to bed earlier (See #1)--in bed no later than 10 PM and trying to get that back to 9 PM eventually. 

5.  Supplements

Taking fish oil supplements on a daily basis as "prescribed" by my doctor to help with mood and lots of other things women my age deal with.  

6.  Lighten-up

Boy, I need to laugh more.  Watch funny stuff.  Read some joke books.  Be spontaneous!   Practice giving thanks in all circumstances. 

7.  Sun

15 minutes a day to get some Vitamin D and raise my serotonin levels.

8.  Exercise

Increasing my exercise to include 3 days of strength training.  Tera is designing a workout for me!  Going for walks more.  Adding pool time to my routine.

9.  Devotions/Prayer time/Workbook

Ultimately, I really want to be spending more time in prayer and devotions than I do watching TV.  I NEED that time every day.  I NEED to be spending time working through a workbook dealing with emotional healing.

10.  Hobbies

Carving out time to blog, read and hike (when it's cooler).  

I love the thought of focusing on one of these habits a week, until I've added them all into my daily schedule.  No pressure, no stress.  Just one change at a time!  

 

Father's Day 2018

Father's Day lunch on Saturday at Aroma Cafe

Tera delighted us with lots of homemade goodies...

Looking for a rarity in our coin jar...

I can honestly say I've never loved anyone as much as I love this man!  He is the best father on this earth to us!  

Blue belt

It took a little longer to break his boards this time around...that dreaded back kick.  But Michael persevered and made it!   Smiles and cheers all around! 

Officially a blue belt...

Ten Things Tuesdays: A few of my favorite things...

A few of my favorite things:

1.  Soft-serve ice cream--Right now DQ is my favorite! 

2.  The Brave Little Toaster--One of my all-time favorite Disney movies

3.  Beautiful flowers

4.  Winter hikes--I never thought I was much of a winter person, but of all the seasons, winter is my favorite time to hike.  I can dress in layers and stay warm.  There are no bugs, bees or bears to deal with.  And it's not humid. 

5.  Learning new things--Homeschooling has continued to challenge me to learn about new subjects and ideas that I may never take the time to do on my own.  Right now, I'm neck deep into planning British History for my two high school students.  Finding websites, reading material, documentaries and project ideas are on my to-do list. 

6.  Friends that cry with you when your dog dies and send you sympathy cards because they know how special that puppy was to you! 

7.  This beautiful VBS song especially when my sweet little boy is singing it: 



8.  Date nights with JP  (an older picture, but a good one)

9.  Tera's bookmarks from her girls' Bible study last week on Esther

10.  These three--

VBS 2018

By far, VBS week is Michael's favorite week of the summer.  I sit and wait for him in the sanctuary--singing station.  Shipwrecked had the BEST music!  My spirits were lifted every night singing along with these worship songs and watching Michael.  It was such a blessing! 

A day late for Ten Things

I'm a day late for Ten Things because life just kinda happened to us...

1.  VBS week for Michael--By far, Michael's favorite week of the summer.  It's also exhausting for him and I do notice a lot more of non-compliance and arguing during the week.  Definitely a trade-off and proof that my mandatory nap time every afternoon is a good idea.  I try to use the hours I'm sitting in the sanctuary waiting for him to work on school planning.  Monday night was really productive, but last night I just sat there trying to figure out British history.   

Michael with Lauren--then and now! 

2013

2018

2.  Three of us have had varying degrees of sinus stuff, but thankfully we are on the mend.  

3.  Michael entered a contest at the library called "The Next Great Hero Contest"  He entered his comic book character, Gravi-Kitty.  Drum roll...please...1st place winner in the 9-13 year old age bracket for Michael and Gravi-Kitty!  

4.  Tera created and is leading her own girl's Bible study this summer on the topic, women of the Bible.  So proud of how God is using her to encourage others.  She is also volunteering once a week at our local pregnancy center.  Tera has such a servant's heart and I'm so happy she has found a way to pour God's love out into the world. 

5.  We are in the process of shopping for a new-to-us-used van.  We had our eyes on one, but when we went to look at it a second time at the car lot...it wouldn't start.  Definitely took that as a sign to move onto a different prospect! 

6.  Hiking has slowed down quite considerably.  The humidity, heat, bees or having to get up before sunrise to get started, to avoid all those things has really been a hindrance.  Just hoping at least to get a couple of hikes in this month. 

7.  Cooking dinner last night and kids kept asking, "What are you making?"  "Something up" was my answer because I was indeed making up a casserole recipe, because I have fallen off my meal planning wagon with everything going on this week.  (It turned out great--I'll make it once more before I post the recipe.)

8.  Daniel had his flute re-padded for the first time.  We have been so blessed with a great flute I found on ebay a few years ago.   It's quite pricey but was long overdue.  We were quite pleased with the repair guy and recommend him highly! 

9.  3 more nights of VBS, karate class, gym, karate belt test, Black Belt Club, fencing, Bible study and VBS Sunday rounds out the rest of this week.  I'll be wishing for a nap every day next week. 

The saddest note of all....

10.  Our sweet puppy passed away on Monday.  He had been sick and got worse very quickly over the weekend.  We are so sad!  When you have an inside pet, your world revolves around their care--they are first thing you take care of in the morning and when you walk in the door, you can't be gone for long periods of time--it's a bit overwhelming when something like this happens.   Usually I'm pretty good with sharing things on my blog and with others, but in this situation it just feels so hard to share...so I won't for now.  I will share sweet Mazey's love of snow....

Crazy Mazey, our sweet, precious puppy.