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.

Month Three: The Journal Challenge

The Challenge:

Spend at least fifteen minutes writing in my journal every day for a month.

Although journaling has been on my mind for a long time (we're talking at least three years) I have managed to put it off over and over. This time, there is no escape for journaling. It's. Going. DOWN. Booyah.

The challenge starts tomorrow (August 6, 2012) and ends September 6, 2012. Anyone want to join me on this one?