Category: What I’m Into

what i’m into – that’s keeping me sane {march 2016}

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What I'm Into. March 2016

It’s that time again! My monthly What I’m Into post, linking up with Leigh Kramer.

So, I have been very busy this month-but not necessarily busy doing the fun things – I have been busy working my part-time job which, understandably, has taken some of the time that I use to have for the “fun” stuff. This month has been about adjusting and determining the balance that feels right for me, which is going to continue into April, I am sure. Anywho, here goes.

  • My part-time position as Project Coordinator has been a two-fold sanity saver: it’s keeping me sane in that it is providing me an income stream that is helping tremendously with my level of financial anxiety and (2) it’s providing me with a much needed and appreciated sense of competency that being a mom has not yet afforded me.
  • The one thing that working part-time has not taken away from me is my reading time. Yes, I know it’s because I am making it a priority and I really am. I am beginning to make a habit of reading 15 minutes when I wake up as well as an additional 15-30 minutes before I go to bed. This is in addition to whatever I can squeeze in during the day. I have read 14 of my goal for 36 books this year and I am 6 books ahead of schedule. Check out my latest books vanquished here. This is very important to me because I know that the last two months of the year are going to be very difficult for me to read too much of anything and so the further I can get ahead the more relaxing my end-of-the-year will be. I know I am using words like vanquished and not relaxing but I do really enjoy reading and it does keep me sane.
  • What has slowed down for me this month, in proportion to last month, is my half-marathon training and I am petrified at the thought that I will not be as prepared as I wanted to be for it next month. However, while running my 8 mile and 10 mile training runs, I have come to the realization that I don’t LIKE or ENJOY running for two hours straight or longer. The runs were cutting into valuable time with my family  (and, ok, reading), and not something that was worth it in the long run for me at this stage in my life. While this realization is a little sad for me, it is nice to realize that I really enjoy the shorter distances (5K and 10K) and while I plan on completing the half marathon next month, through much pain, I am going to refocus my running on becoming faster, not running longer distances. At least for now.
  • Proud to say that I have stayed out of season long “rabbit holes.” Don’t have as much time as I use to. LOL!
  • Featured my second Enjoy Life Guest Post on the blog. Paula from The Geeky Shopaholic was kind enough to give us 5 Ways to Make Life More Enjoyable, something to check out if life could be more enjoyable for you.:)
  • Posted my second Enjoy Life Interview. I really like doing these! Read the first one with Love Notes creator, Jennifer Belthoff. By the way, Love Notes is starting up again on April 3. One of my favorite things to do; I rave here.  If you’re interested in participating, sign up. Goal is to have a sender from all 50 states and we’re still missing Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota.
  • It’s Spring! The cold is leaving. Yay! I absolutely LOVE the beautiful pastel colors of the trees, especially the purple ones. So pretty.

Not much this month! What did you do? Tell me!

what i’m into – that’s keeping me sane {february 2016}

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What I'm Into. January 2016.PNG

It’s that time again! Time to tell you What I’m Into – That’s Keeping Me Sane and as usual I am linking up with Leigh Kramer and her fantastic What I’m Into Link-Up. I love this link-up because it’s great to read other people’s posts and get new ideas to stay sane. Check everyone out here.

  • I love my Hubby. His strength and patience keep me sane every day. This weekend, my Hubby and I are celebrating our 10 Year Wedding Anniversary. I cannot believe that it has been 10 years all ready! Wow! I know I am much saner for having him in my life.
  • Running keeps me sane and my training has really picked up for the Half Marathon on April 10th. So far, I have run more miles than I have ever run in my life – including my longest run ever of eight miles. And as I stated here, running on the treadmill has really helped my outside runs. I believe that I am getting faster, as well!
  • Writing keeps me sane and I am particularly excited because I have done another Enjoy Life Interview that will post on March 14. I really like doing these interviews and sharing them with you. You can read my first ever here.
  • And so far, I have met one of my intentions for 2016 to post one blog post per week. I also posted to my blog 50 times since I started it. I am very grateful to every one of you for reading and commenting. You guys keep me going.
  • Reading continues to keep me sane and this month, I read a lot of books (Check out my Quick Lit post for a list). I am 4 books ahead of my target intention to read 36 books this year.
  • Reading Laura Vanderkam’s 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think has caused me to reassess what I can do as a new mom. And so I have started working again, part-time, in my chosen field of project management and event planning. This has really help to keep me sane. It’s been three weeks and so far it’s been successful. We have had a couple of challenges as I knew we would, Buddy Man got an ear infection for one, but we’ve worked around them. One upside is that I have to “give a durn”, another intention.
  • I have managed to stay out of multiple rabbit holes, The Good Wife, etc. per my intentions but I have discovered another show on Netflix that I have added to my list: The Mysteries of Laura, about a mom who’s a detective and has kids. I enjoyed Season One, and am waiting for Season Two .And I was so mad when NBC cancelled Crossing Lines, a crime drama about a multinational task force unit, in 2013. I was unaware that it was renewed for two more seasons and able to be viewed on Netflix. I have enjoyed catching up.

So what have you been into this February? Do tell.

enjoy life…

what i’m into – that’s keeping me sane {january 2016}

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After the busyness of my December, and a wonderful vacation with my family the first week of January, my body succumbed to a flu-like virus and had me down and out for the second week of January. I spent the third week of January getting my bearings back. Happily, I still managed to do a few things this month that helped keep me sane.

  • I have read four books this month and I am on target for my Goodreads Reading Challenge this year. I reviewed one on January’s edition of Quick Lit. The other three, I will review during next month’s edition. I also completed one category of the Modern Mrs. Darcy’s Reading Challenge. One down, 11 more to go. I am really enjoying my lighter reading fare that I have continued this month. Staying sane.
  • I have started listening to Modern Mrs. Darcy’s new podcast: What Should I Read Next.  There have been four episodes all ready and I have enjoyed each one. My To Be Read list of books has grown considerably. I wonder if I may ever be a guest because I would love to hear her personalized recommendations for what I should read next. One can dream (sigh).
  • I have made some progress on another one of my intentions for 2016: removing things that are not useful, beautiful, or loved. I used the Martin Luther King holiday to clean out my closet and am moving on to my books in the next week. I am excitedly working on my posts to share with you soon.
  • I began training for my half marathon in April. It’s kind of cold for me to be running outside so I have been training on a treadmill. The bad news is that it is harder to run on a treadmill than outside. The good news is that it is harder to run on a treadmill than outside. I will be thrilled when I can take my training outside permanently. Although one time, I got so tired of running on the treadmill, I did take it outside in spite of the cold. But I did complete the miles for the day; very proud! Running again makes me realize that I MUST run regularly in order to stay sane.
  • I participated in the Love Notes Postcard Project {14} this month, the first of four rounds this year. I LOVE this project and had the pleasure of interviewing its creator, Jennifer Belthoff. If you missed it, you can read it here. My partner, Susan, was awesome! I loved her postcards.
  • My birthday was this week. Received the gorgeous flowers, pictured above, from the Hubby created by Ron and Mark of InBloom Floral Design Studios. They are amazing!

Once again, I will be linking up with Leigh Kramer and her What I’m Into Link-Up. You can check out what other folks are into here.

Let me know what you’ve been up to this New Year in the comments. I LOVE comments!

enjoy life…