Category: What I’m Into

what i’m into – keeping me sane {august 2019}

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I’m preparing this post on Sunday, September 1st! And I can’t believe that it’s September already. A lot has happened in my life last month, most of which I discussed in Now I Get It {Summer 2019} so head over there to see what’s been going on. Yes, I do feel a bit overwhelmed.  September is going to be chocked full of events and things to do leading up to those events and my tendency is to get so wrapped up and focused on the things that I have to get done that once that crunch time is over, I ALWAYS collapse and get sick from exhaustion (mental, physical, and emotional).  I hope that doesn’t happen this September and to that end, I have been working on those things that have been proven to relieve my stress.

Nurturing My Inner Artist

I commented last month, that I have begun to explore my inner artist. As a writer and in my new role as an Event Manager, I spend a lot of time inside my head.  OK, OK. I am always inside my head regardless of my work. Drawing and watercoloring have been serving as a release from mental overdrive and I have found it to be very relaxing.

And so I spent Labor Day Weekend working on a couple of versions of our house in watercolor.  I was inspired by this YouTube video by Shayda Campbell. I really enjoyed this process and painting houses so I hope to do a lot more.  If you’d like me to give your house a whirl (Obviously, I need all the practice I can get) reach out and let me know.

I also have fallen down the rabbit hole of looking at other artists on YouTube and I am really enjoying Minnie Small’s videos about the creative process.  I want to figure out a way to combine my inner writer and my inner artist together in some way.  I don’t know what that would look like but it’s an intriguing and exciting possibility.  I am thinking of snazzing up my Bullet Journal a bit more, as a creative outlet. Since, I have been using it, it has been a completely utilitarian, which has been great. It’s let me get use to the format and figure out my favorite layouts and spreads but I’m feeling the urge to do a bit more.  We will see.

Nurturing My Inner Athlete

The day this post will be the 100th consecutive day of my #shannanmoves streak.  This involved either a one-mile run or a 30-minute walk.  I am mixing it up in September and preparing for the annual Liz Hurley Ribbon Run for breast cancer in October. I don’t know if I will run the race because I am planning a trip on that weekend but I had said that I wanted to follow the Nike Training plan to get ready for the race and there’s no reason why I shouldn’t do it.  There are rest days in the plan but I believe I can still do a walk of some time to keep the streak alive.  However, for the next 6 weeks or so, it’s not about the streak. It’s about following the training plan and giving it everything I have. If I need a rest day then I shall take one.  It makes me sad that the streak may be broken but it is important for me to learn to listen to my body and give it what it needs. This includes all areas of my life, not just exercise.

What have you guys been up to? Let me know in the comments and If you have a monthly recap post letting us know what you’re into, please share it in the comments below and let your community know that you are doing so.  We do this every month, next on Tuesday, October 1.

enjoy life…

what i’m into – keeping me sane {july 2019}

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What I'm Into. July.jpg

If you have a monthly recap post letting us know what you’re into, please share it in the comments below and let your community know that you are doing so.  We do this every month, next on Tuesday, September 3.  

July had a lot going on. And it’s only as I sat down to write this post that I realized it.  Probably need to pull back off the throttle a bit in August. To that end, my family and I are taking that quick weekend to the beach that I mentioned last month.  So excited!

Fun but Work(ish) Stuff

I have begun collaborating with Lady Smith of the Snail on the Wall Books, an independent virtual book store in Huntsville.   And we’re in the middle of planning a HUGE project that I cannot wait to share with you when the time comes. Additionally, she has been gracious enough to provide me with some ARCs (advanced readers’ copy) in exchange for my honest review. This IS fun but, I must say, it seems like there is no way that I will be able to get through them all.

I am also sitting on the Planning Committee for The Catalyst’s annual Mompreneur miniconference planned for September.  Everyone is working hard to make it a meaningful event for the mom entrepreneurs in Huntsville.

Met a new-to-me author, Heather Kaczynski.  She is the author of two books, the first of which, Dare Mighty Things, begins in Huntsville, Alabama.  Yay! Planning on diving into this while on vacay.

I have started sketching/drawing/doodling, whatever my efforts are called.  I have been posting some of them on my Instagram.  It’s been really fun! YouTube is a wonderful research tool if you want to learn ANYTHING! And, now that I think about it, that could be scary.

I only have one more full category to complete in order to complete my EnjoyLife Project: Create Home thru KonMari: Sentimental Items. Additionally, I still need to go through my cleaning supplies and my pending box. But even without doing those things, I am feeling the “magic of tidying up”.

I wrote last month, that I felt a bit overwhelmed with everything that was going on and that I took a day to reprioritize and refocus for the remainder of 2019.  That “self-care” day was wonderful and I figured out what I should be doing.  I was still struggling, however, with how to keep everything straight in my head. In the Mompreneur Planning Committee, we were discussing Bullet Journaling.  Did some research and discovered that it has been called the “KonMari for your mind”. And I decided to give it a go.  You can read my first post about it here.

I held Part 2 of my New Year visioning party, Enjoy Life 2019 at my home this month. Everyone said that they enjoyed it and I was able to refocus and prioritize for the remainder of 2019.  The year is halfway over but there is still plenty of time to make progress on our goals for 2019.

Fun Stuff

To that end, while I haven’t been running every day, I have been exercising every day.  The #shannanmoves streak continues and that has felt like very real progress to my goal of becoming healthier in 2019. After over 60 days, waking up in the morning and working-out has definitely and officially become a habit! Yay! And isn’t that sunrise so pretty above.  Took that on my long run last week.

This month, I have been watching the Tour de France.  I first started watching this in 2013 and wrote about what I learned from watching it here. Since then, it has been something that I look forward to every summer and this year has been epic.  I didn’t know what was going to happen and that made it even more intriguing.

My man, Roger Federer, almost won Wimbledon again.  I couldn’t watch it; I was so nervous.  He’s still the GOAT (greatest of all time).

What have you been into this month?

P.S. A friend shared this video with me on the difference between sympathy and empathy-I’ve kind of been struggling with this recently. If you haven’t seen it, it’s worth a look.

enjoy life…

what i’m into – keeping me sane {june 2019}

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If you have a monthly recap post letting us know what you’re into, please share it in the comments below and let your community know that you are doing so.  We do this every month, next on Friday, August 2.  

I have a very difficult time believing that we are halfway through 2019.  The older I get, the quicker time flies. It will be Christmas before we know it! The Buddy Man will be thrilled.

Anywho, June was divided by three major things: (1) a trip to San Diego (trips are generally stressful for me); (2) returning from the trip and trying to get my bearings again; and finally (3) reviewing the first half of 2019 to see where I am with my goals and intentions and what I need to prioritize the second half of the year.

We went to San Diego to attend my paternal extended family’s biennial reunion.

SIDEBAR: I’m ashamed to say but I have always been confused between the use of semiannual, biannual, and biennial. So, for this post, I decided to take the time and figure out the difference once and for all.  Shockingly, this took less than two minutes!

Semiannual and biannual mean the same thing: something that occurs twice a year.  Biennial means something that occurs every two years.  But because biannual and biennial are often confused (Hello!), it is easier to use the words semiannual and biennial and just leave biannual alone.  That’s what I’m going to do from now on.

The Buddy Man and I drove to Atlanta and flew with my parents to San Diego.  This was the first flight that the Buddy Man realized what was happening; his very first flight was at 9 months.  He did very well.  Landing on the first flight messed with his ears and he didn’t know what was happening. There were tears. However, he was ready on the return flight.  He listened to me and yawned and ate appropriately to keep his ears popping as we descended.

We did get to go to the beach; the first time the Buddy knew we were there and he LOVED it.  I am so excited! I LOVE the beach and to see him like it as much as I do was very gratifying for me.  So, the Hubby and I have decided to plan a quick weekend to the beach in August. Something to look forward to.

It was really great to see most of the family again.  Every time, I see them I resolve to be better at keeping in touch with them and this time, I took some time to think about how I could make that happen. Most are on Facebook and so I set a monthly notification on my phone to reach out via Messenger.  Might as well make Facebook good for something.  We will see how it goes.

I was so happy to be able to run every day during the month of June as part of the Runner’s World Running Streak that started on Memorial Day and ends on the Fourth of July. I was concerned I wouldn’t be able to keep the streak going while on the trip but thanks to my mom watching the Buddy, and running at the end of one day (which I don’t necessarily like) and in the fitness center on the #dreadmill, I got it done.  The streak continues.

Upon our return, I quickly felt overwhelmed with everything.  My mind was racing with what I want to accomplish this year, what I said that I would do but haven’t got to yet (like finish “KonMari(ng)” my home) and what I should be working on for the rest of the year. So, I took a self-care day. I reviewed my Intentions/Goals for 2019 and acknowledge the progress I had made. I had a nice lunch alone, a massage, and watched a movie.  It was a very nice day and I came out of it refreshed and with clarity and focus.

I have also watched the World Cup in women’s soccer and I have absolutely loved the women’s Nike commercials.  Here’s one of the good ones.

What have you been up to this month? Let me know in the comments.

P.S. By the way, have you seen this Google Nest Hub commercial.  Makes me smile every time I see it.

enjoy life…