I'm back!

Hi faithful followers, I'm finally back to report a complete slide off the cliff of Perfect Months. Despite the fact that the above photo is a photo of a cliff, I actually chose it to represent a fresh start. (Maybe I should've thought through my first sentence....)

I just found out that I will not be hired on at my field placement when I graduate. Although I was very enthusiastic about the possibility of continuing my career there, I am not overly disappointed. I am excited to have more time to enjoy my daughter and to work on some projects.

One of those projects will involve some experimentation with monetizing this blog. I hope you're not all too offended. I don't really plan on this blog every being a money maker, but I'm considering creating a new blog that would be designed to generate a bit of extra income once those student debts start rolling in. In the meantime, I hope to use this blog as a test drive. Most likely I will take off the ads once I have an idea of how to use them and I begin work on my other blog.

I also hope to start this blog up again now that I am feeling a bit of relief from things that had been stressing me. (Mostly worrying about whether or not I would be working and how I would balance family, work, and church responsibilities and still leave time for taking care of myself!)

I am going to make a list of ideas that I've had for my next perfect month, and I'd like to know what topic interests you, my few but precious readers. Also, here's a shameless plea for aid in my quest for more readers: If you know anyone who you think would be interested in the concept of this blog, please pass it on to them. This is really my beginning attempts at learning how to use my writing and other skills to make an impact, so the more people it reaches, the better!

Okay, here's the list:

• Perfect month of self-care (treating myself well)
• Perfect month of finances (no unnecessary purchases)
• Perfect month of cooking (meal plans, etc)
• Perfect month of journaling (I'd do it on the perfect month blog rather than in a journal as I did in the past)
• Perfect month of exercise (not just running)
• Perfect month of service (daily acts of service)
• Perfect month of learning (homework, learning about things that interest me)
• Perfect month of organizing 

Please let me know which of these interest you or if you have any other ideas by leaving a comment. I hope I didn't lose you all for good during my hiatus. Only two months left until I graduate!!!! WOO HOOO!!!

The Sleep Challenge: Week One

First off, sorry if you're getting a headache from all the design changes to the blog...I'm having an early mid-blog-life crisis. I keep bouncing back and forth between too boring and too much going on.

Second, this extra sleep thing is AMAZING!!! I can honestly say I feel like I've been blessed for my obedience to that youtube video I posted. (You know, the one that scared Jeni...)

I have had a noticeable increase in my level of motivation since I began this goal at the beginning of the month. Mornings are still hard (I think mornings will always be hard for me) but I have found myself getting much more done during the day.

Ooh! That reminds me of the weird fall decorating spree I went on... I bought a cute little bucket and put a bunch of gourds in it and then Matt, Lilly, and I went for a leaf hunt to fill the vase I saved from our wedding. While we were out I noticed there were a lot of acorns lying around and I thought they might add a nice touch of over-the-top adorableness to my fall decoration plan. Here're the pics.

 I'm trying to decide between these two different looks. Any opinions? If you can't tell the difference, I'll give you a hint: look in the little tan vase and at the top of the clear vase. (It's like one of those "spot the differences" games in the Friend!)

Month Four: The Sleep Challenge

Best challenge ever. Right?

This is my inspiration:

For this month (starting tomorrow, October 1st) I am going to bed by 10:30 on weeknights and 11:00 on weekends. I am going to just count on Lilly waking me up early enough to count as "early." And, I'll make this clear right now: If she ever lets me sleep in, I am so jumping on that. Alright. I feel pretty good about this one even with the hectic schedule. Also, I will only blog as often as I have something interesting to report. Probably I'll shoot for at least once a week.

I'm back! (And an explanation of my absence)

Hi all of you faithful followers (in other words, "Hi Christina!")

I have officially had an epic fail of a perfect month. And you know what? I don't regret it one bit. After missing a few days of my perfect month of journaling I decided that I needed a break from blogging. I guess I had an unofficial perfect month (or two) of survival during my blog absence. I'm proud to say that I survived perfectly, though I definitely did not journal perfectly.

In the last couple of months I began my internship at Lutheran Social Services. I work out of the Janesville office doing outpatient substance abuse and mental health counseling. I'm loving it. But adding about 18 hours a week to my already busy schedule (with school, family, and church responsibilities) just about did me in. Luckily things are back on track enough that I think I can resume this blog. Of course, I am going to start with a month that will be relatively easy to achieve. My plan is that this month's goal is going to make balancing my responsibilities easier rather than adding yet another item to my "to-do" list. 

Also, we had family portraits taken this week, so I can't resist posting a few of my favorites.

Day 4 and 5: The Journal Challenge

The inevitable has happened: I had a day that 1)was boring and 2)left me with very little energy to write in my journal. I have the answer to this problem, but I did not use it. I was too tired. For future reference, I am going to attach a link that may be helpful for those of you who want to write but either don't know where to start, or just feel like life is not currently interesting enough to write about. I am right now assuming that a quick google search will get me what I'm assuming exists on the internet.

(Cross your fingers, here it goes!! Don't fail me, google!!!)

This one has some that are more geared toward creative writing, but also has many good ones.

This one is also pretty good

But really, I don't love either. I now commit to compiling my own list of journal topics and tips for keeping a good journal.

(Finally I have some idea of what the heck to write about with this Perfect Month!)

More to come.

Day 2 and 3: The Journal Challenge

On day two I wrote about Lillian's first and second days of day care. Today I spent the majority of my journaling time consolidating old typed entries into one file. My dad has a great word format that he's created for his journal and he sent me a copy of the format so I could use it. Funny how things like that make all the difference.

By the way, armed with this great method of journaling, I am decided. I am not ever going back to hand-writing my journal. This is just too much faster.

Always. And. Forever.

Day 1: The Journal Challenge

When I was five years old, my sister, Duz, scribed my first journal for me. She would ask me questions about my day and then write my answers down for me. I'm not sure how many full volumes of handwritten journals I have written since then, but there are lots.

So why am I doing journal writing as my third "Perfect Month?" Confession time. I have written a total of about seven journal entries in the last three years of my life. I guess getting married, graduating from college, having a baby, and moving across the country to Graduate school just didn't seem like worthwhile content. (Sigh).

I am seriously repentant about my lack of writing during these life-changing experiences. Coming back to keeping a journal after all those changes is a bit intimidating. I think that is what has continued to keep me from getting back into journal-keeping.

Want to know how I'm approaching it? Today I wrote about everything Lilly is doing now: the words she knows, her favorite things to do, her first day of day care, etc. I am making no attempt to catch up on three years of missed journaling. For me, this is the only way. It is far too overwhelming otherwise.