How I shone this week:  This was a crazy week for connection, on Monday I was with my sister still, then Tuesday I saw my friend Haven at night, Wednesday I was at the kids’ school teaching Lit Club, Thursday I had breakfast with my friend Leslie and then briefly met a work friend, Petra, and then had lunch with another friend, Baris, from work and then on Friday I spent a lot of my day with my friend Kelly. For this introvert, this is a lot of socializing in one week. But I survived it, I thrived. I showed up and was my best self most of the time. I am proud of myself.

Things I wanted to get Done:

• Work: kept email pretty clean this week, working on the october trip, did the deck but not the dashboard at all and no posters yet.
• Personal: had a great client call, exercised 5 times, ate so-so, journaled twice, haven’t done mapmakers or brene yet, did do the scrapping system.
• Family: met with all friends and more! did math with both kids, David went and came back from camping successfully, checked in with everyone but not enough, took photos!

I celebrate: all the connecting time this week

I am grateful for: the wide variety of friends i have.

I nourished myself by: having deep and meaningful conversations this week.

Reflecting on my worries: i did exercise. i ate so so. i did have a hard time driving to san jose but i made it. chocolate is still a pain point. i disappointed myself. i am still playing catch up. i am ok with my reading.

I let go of: being able to catch up in one week. it will take some time.

Core Desire Check-in (bold, mindful, nourish, love):

• bold: driving to san jose and back.
• mindful: mindful that i am feeling overwhelmed
• nourish: connection was nourishing 
• love: love love love a quiet weekend

What made me laugh this week: i with my friend Kelly.

What I tolerated this week: not getting enough sleep or alone time.

My mood this week was: tired.
I forgive myself for:  my ticket.
What I love right now: i love my quiet weekend.

Here’s to a great week 40. 

How I shone this week:  Well this week took an unexpected turn. My sister called me Sunday and asked me if she can come Monday night. She was in Boston and was planning to come in three weeks but due to a last minute change, she decided to show up. While it was absolutely wonderful, between that and my taking the day off on Tuesday, this week was very crunched so there was much running around to squeeze in going to school and work and exercise and of course being with my wonderful sister. Maybe shining mostly looks like surviving lately for me.

Things I wanted to get Done:

• Work: i don’t even want to tell you how behind I already am in email. did the blog but not done yet. finished deck and posters. didn’t do October get together. Dashboard still needs iteration 2. moved meetings.
• Personal: no client calls this week in the end. didn’t journal 🙁 ate okay and exercised. did mapmaker 7 (not 8) , didn’t start brene’s class, no solution to chocolate but i did continue scrapping.
• Family: did math with both kids, did chores for school, had bday!, checked in with family and took photos!

I celebrate: getting to celebrate my birthday with my sister!

I am grateful for: my sister! my hubby! my boys! 

I nourished myself by: lots of exercise this week. 

Reflecting on my worries: all the days worked out and so did making more room so i could be with my sister.

I let go of: getting it all right this week.

Core Desire Check-in (bold, mindful, nourish, love):

• bold: back to seven days of exercise.
• mindful: mindful that i need to figure out how to balance things better this week.
• nourish: i need to stop with the chocolate!
• love: having my sister around.

What made me laugh this week: i laughed a lot with my boys and sister.

What I tolerated this week: not getting enough work done.

My mood this week was: tired.
I forgive myself for:  not getting enough done.
What I love right now: i love having my sister here and i know i will figure out how to balance things out.

Here’s to a great week 38. 

As the summer was coming to a close, Jake and I kept talking about how we wanted to see if we could squeeze in one more quick holiday. We went to Australia at the beginning of summer so we felt like we wanted one quick one. We thought about SoCal or Tahoe or the middle of California. But couldn’t settle on one.

And then he suggested that maybe we should go see the eclipse. I told him everything was sold out (like six years ago.) The more we looked into it, the more it became impossible to pull it off. So he suggested we email my sister in law who’s originally from Ashland to see if we can pick her brain.

As it worked out, she was going to be in Ashland and had a friend who would let us stay at his house (and he was going to be out of town!) we hemmed and hawed for a few more days but then we just decided it was meant to be and we had to make it happen.

We got up early Saturday morning and got on the road to Ashland. It took us a long time to get there, but when we arrived, we got to see how her friend’s house was absolutely amazing, at the top of a hill with deer and other wildlife around us. It was truly such a gift. 

We spent Saturday and Sunday in Ashland, with the kids playing with their cousins, and just relaxing. Sunday night we went to bed at 7pm and got up at 11:30pm so we could do the four-hour drive to Totality. We were worried about all the potential traffic so we decided to get on the road super early. We had some idea of where we might want to stop but we also weren’t sure what the situation would be like. 

As it turned out, we had no traffic at all. We got to a rest area a little before where we had intended to stop so I told Jake we should check it out since it had bathrooms and all. It was very full but we found a spot pretty close to the bathroom and with a great view of the sun. It was 3am at this point, so we tried to get some sleep (we weren’t super successful.) and then patiently waited till the eclipse. 

We got really lucky with the rest area which had a lot of bathrooms, all of which were being cleaned regularly. There was a church nearby passing out tea and coffee for free. When it came to be time, everyone ahhed at the same time and the birds flew away in fear. It was such a sense of community and a moment of awe.

I had given Jake such a hard time for wanting to see the 100%. Ashland had 97% so I wasn’t sure why we really needed to travel four hours just to see the extra 3% but I was so wrong. My very favorite part of the entire thing ended up being the one minute where I could watch it without glasses. It was an awe inspiring moment that I will never forget for the rest of my life. It was 1000% worth it. I’m so grateful we did it.

When it was over, we’d planned to go straight home even though it was 10+ hours of driving. As it worked out, we took 7+ hours to get back to Ashland and by then it was 7pm so we decided to spend the night in Ashland instead of doing something unsafe. (especially since we hadn’t slept the night before.)

So we spent one final night in Ashland and woke up super early Tuesday to come right back home. All in all, it was a crazy, insane, magical and one of a kind adventure!

Stories from 2017 is a year-long project for 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.

How I shone this week: I was saying how last week was tough but I must have not realized what was coming. This week has been much rougher, scarier and worrisome. I have been glued to CNN way more than I’d like. I am very frustrated and angry and sad all at once. I am making some changes and trying to figure out what I can do because staying silent is not an option. So… not much shining. I am in the meantime, trying to show up and be my best self.

Things I wanted to get Done:

• Work: maybe figure out a better system for email.
• Work: finalize matches, blog post, sites page.
• Work: be done with september goal.
• Work: create dashboard.
• Work: prep preso contents.
• Personal: exercise 6/7 days. one new exercise.
• Personal: continue eating clean. one new food.
• Personal: check in for taxes.
• Personal: Journal regularly.
• Personal: Do mapmaker #4
• Personal: prep food for Oregon
• Family: plan our trip to Oregon.
• Family: prep food for Oregon.

• Work: Woot caught up to email, somewhat. Finalized matches, didn’t do blog but did sites page. Sort of done with September. Didn’t do dashboard. Did preso. 
• Personal: exercised 8 times and did one new one. ate clean. didn’t like the new food. didn’t do taxes, journaled some and didn’t do mapmaker 4 just yet. or did it partially. bought some food for Oregon but didn’t prep yet. 
• Family: didn’t really plan oregon but I will asap.

I celebrate: 8 exercises this week. I am getting stronger.

I am grateful for: my manager and his kindness and encouragement.

I nourished myself by: spending some down time this week.

Reflecting on my worries: i exercised, i ate well, all is ok at work but I am still worried about school. we have one week left and none of us feel like it’s coming.

I let go of: getting things done in certain instances so I could choose to rest instead.

Core Desire Check-in (bold, mindful, nourish, love):

• bold: i did 3 classes in one day this week. i spoke my mind again in a meeting with a lot of executives. i decided to go on an adventure even though i am scared.
• mindful: mindful that i am feeling a lot of feelings still.
• nourish: trying to relax my mind and have faith that i will still be ok on the go
• love: i love going on adventures with my boys.

What made me laugh this week: not much this week, to be honest.

What I tolerated this week: all the awful news.

My mood this week was: sad. dismayed and frustrated. 
I forgive myself for:  getting distracted with news at work yet again.
What I love right now:  i love all the exercise i am doing, i am so proud of myself.

Here’s to a better week 34. 

How I shone this week: I have been driving to work and back every single day to exercise. I am so grateful for all the support that makes this possible. I am showing up at work. At home. For Jake. And for me. So much for me.

Things I wanted to get Done:

• Work: archived all emails darn it. didn’t write docs but made some presos. still working on q2. finalized round one. and got C organized. 
• Personal: did olw. exercised every day. didn’t schedule PT. didn’t cash check or do taxes. journaled!
• Family: Worked with both D and N on Math and had fun, too!! 

I celebrate: still here, still doing this!

I am grateful for: jake again and again. i couldn’t do this without him. and Ali for inspiring me.

I nourished myself by: a lot of good food this week.

Reflecting on my worries: i exercised, i are well. i am catching up. effort i put in will or will not matter, i can’t tell. kids seem to be doing okay.

I let go of: being perfect. never going to happen.

Core Desire Check-in (bold, mindful, nourish, love):

• bold: two classes on wednesday and friday was bold.
• mindful: mindful of journaling. i want to do it more.
• nourish: will make a list of new proteins. and veggies. 
• love: i love our CSA and the farmer’s market. getting all the fresh food makes my day.

What made me laugh this week: My boys.

What I tolerated this week: all the muscle ache.

My mood this week was: grateful. 
I forgive myself for:  progress still being slow. I am doing my best every day and then letting it go.
What I love right now: i love sitting in the backyard. i love the fresh air.

Here’s to a lovely week 31. Here’s to keeping things going!

How I shone this week: Woohooo! I did well this week. I did math with both of my kids for hours and tucked the little boy in bed every night, and supported David through a long test. I supported Jake with bouncing ideas for an exciting opportunity he has this week. I exercised and ate well every day. I showed up at work, in person, and tried really hard as much as possible and then let it go when it was time to sleep. I went to the dentist. I went to the blood lab to check my basic stats. I showed up again and again. 

Things I wanted to get Done:

• Work: can’t say i caught up on email, i basically archived all. i didn’t document anything yet. i did setup the sheets and meetings. I didn’t do q2 closing yet or phase 2 of data. I am hoping i will do the posters today. 
• Personal: I didn’t do OLW july but I think i want to make a project out of it, so I might wait till next weekend. I did exercise and eat well but didn’t check in for taxes or schedule PT. I will do those this week.
• Family: Worked with both D and N on Math, supported him  and Jake. yay!

I celebrate: exercising every day, eating well, i am so grateful.

I am grateful for: getting a bit on track for a bit. jake supporting me so i can go exercise.

I nourished myself by: eating really well and sleeping!

Reflecting on my worries: i exercised. I continued to eat well. I caught up a bit at work. i am starting to get ready for the new cycle. i don’t have control on what matters. i am working to make time for me and my knees are just fine!

I let go of: trying to catch up to everything. i’ll get there when i get there.

Core Desire Check-in (bold, mindful, nourish, love):

• bold: i exercised! I showed up to classes i knew nothing about. 
• mindful: mindful of the fact that I will run out of hours and need to start getting solid about prioritizing work.
• nourish: nourishing well now. cooking even!
• love: i am feeling so much gratitude and love for turning things around a tiny bit. 

What made me laugh this week: This teacher on Friday (Molly) was super nice and made me laugh and laugh.

What I tolerated this week: quite a bit of muscle pain and getting used to the protein powder’s taste.

My mood this week was: aching but grateful.
I forgive myself for: being so out of shape and weak. Not getting more done at work.
What I love right now: i love summer. i love being able to sit in the backyard. i love that the sun is up at 6am. I love the long days. 

Here’s to a lovely week 29. Here’s to keeping things going!