For The Love Of Monday.

Mondays are my favorite. No matter how stressful they may be, they are always a sign of a fresh start. After reading Danielle's post on her five goals for the week, I decided to set my own. It's always so easy to get stuck on one area of your life that you want to improve, and the rest just starts to slip. What better way to keep yourself well-rounded than by setting five goals each week, in very specific categories that reach every part of your life. I'm feeling quite inspired as you can probably tell.


{Print by Livy Love Designs; Click image for source}

Nutrition- Kick the sugar habit for the week and drink lots of water. This means no giving in to the 'Wednesday Sweets' in the staff room, which for some reason like to appear every day of the week just to torture me.

Exercise- Yoga class Tuesday and Thursday night- there are no excuses for missing it this week.

Relationships- Make dinner for Jordan at least three times this week. I've been such a slacker in the housewife area, it's time to start working on that.

Creativity- Get caught up on my 365 project & make the star garland for Maren's birthday party. I will post more about this project soon.

MeTime- Finish reading The Christian Atheist.

Sugar Update.

While my original goal was 14 days without sugar, I ended up going 26 days! This is a huge accomplishment for me, as I will always consider myself a recovering sugar addict. Go ahead and laugh, but it's true. I was going to try and go for a solid 30 days without sweets, but Holly & Jeremy had a chocolate fountain at the wedding. How can anyone resist a chocolate fountain? I know I couldn't, I mean come on... look how amazing my dessert was. I've decided to start over and beat my new record. This is starting to become a fun game, and I've already seen a huge improvement on the scale and in my overall health.

Sweet Tooth.

Now before I begin, let me tell you what I mean when I tell you that I have a sweet tooth. I'm not your normal, I like to back cupcakes and have a candy bar on occasion, girl who likes her sweets. I am a sugar fiend/addict, and it's not fun. It was easier for me to quit my pack-a-day cigarette habit, than it is for me to turn down sweets. If I could have my way, I'd eat candy/cookies/cake all stinking day. And there have been plenty of days where I did just that. Now, it might seem a little silly and those of you that know me well are probably laughing because you know this is true. And I'm sure Liz will tell you about the cheesecake incident if you don't believe me. But really, I've had enough.

Here comes the good news... drumroll please... it's been 10 days! I haven't had any sweets. I even turned down the most adorable little cupcakes and cookies at the Stitch Swap! I know 10 days doesn't seem like long, but it's a huge accomplishment and I feel great. My original goal was 14 days, which I'm sure I can do. But now I'm thinking I'll keep going. What do you think? Maybe 30 days without sweets?

PS How amazing would it be to live in that candy store?

{Image from WeHeartit}

Four Simple Goals.

While I'm still working on my 2010 list. I really liked the idea of having four simple goals to accomplish in 2010, that aren't result oriented and are simple ways to focus on what it is that makes me smile. Elsie's 4 Simple Goals post inspired me to write my own, but then again I'm always looking for a good excuse to write a to-do list.

1. Read

Read more of everything. Read my Bible more often, read the stack of novels sitting next to my bed, reread old Real Simple and Natural Health magazines, read more blogs, maybe even read my texts books once they arrive for the upcoming semester, who knows?

2. Move

Exercise Move more often. Not as in go to the gym and run on a treadmill for hours, but as in moving for fun not for calorie deduction. This includes bike riding, roller skating, walking, yoga, hiking, swimming, and the list goes on.

3. Cook

Oh, Jordan is going to love it if I actually accomplish this goal. Have I ever told you how pathetic I am in the kitchen? True story.

4. Write

I love writing, but I don't do it enough. Maybe because I'm not very confident in my ability, or maybe because I feel like what I have to say isn't worthy of putting on paper? Regardless, it's something I enjoy so I'm going to start doing it more. Whether that means more blogging or more journalling... I'm going to get my words out of my head on on the paper or screen.

I feel like this is my own little version of Eat, Pray, Love. Without the traveling and life changing experiences, that is.

P.S. I added one more this week. I want to learn how to use my camera. I already took it off the automatic setting, but I want to figure out the rest of the little buttons and switches. I'm hoping to take a class through The Learning Exchange.