Well I had no big goals or small goals for this month so the checkups will look a bit different i guess. I took a little time off this past week and it was great. It definitely was not enough and I am hoping to take a bunch more time off over the next two weeks, we’ll see if I can pull it off.
I did a few items on my list, but very small ones:
Buy Fun stuff: buy something to keep bugs/mosquitoes away.
Health: Moisturize every night
Learn stuff: progress on jski and the class
Take care of my people + myself: Help A with AP stuff and Take time off
I’ve been feeling all over the place so I am giving myself grace. We’ll see how this week goes and whether I decide to be more productive or to rest more.
Here’s to another week. Paying attention. Savoring and living in awe. And taking steps to move onward.
Hello April. As I was journaling about my goals for this month, I decided I needed something different this month. I want to truly take the pressure off myself. So no specific goal setting. And also I like having a list in case the desire or energy does strike me. So I decided I will make a list of all the things I could do and see how many (if any) I check off. If I check off ten, awesome. If i check off none, that’s also awesome. so is one, so is all, so is two. No goal. Just letting it be.
Here’s my list and also new things might come up and I am open to that possibility:
More tidying up:
Pick through the stuffed animals for what to keep
Donate all the donation items
Go through my bedside drawers
Go through under my sink.
Go through linen closet.
Go through kids’ bathroom.
Go through ikea next to my desk.
Clean up desk.
Go through ikea by plants.
Go through the second desk.
Clean out the foosball table (over and under)
Go through the giant ikea.
Go through the cupboards by kitchen sink.
Go through David’s sink drawer.
After all those are done -> schedule bulky trash pickup.
Buy Fun stuff:
Buy colorful ikea drawers
replace cushions for couch outside
buy more lights for yard.
buy heater for the yard.
buy lanterns for the yard.
buy something to keep bugs/mosquitoes away.
buy fun stuff for garage.
Health:
Start stretching regularly
Start a lifting regimen
Go back to doing core classes
Do pilates/yoga
Back to restorative yoga/meditation
Find 3 staple dishes to cook and have on hand
Moisturize every night
Learn stuff
Finish the AI course you did
Learn to use Jski
Research how to train Sadie
Do the shuffle class
Watch some makeup tips
Find a fun class
Take care of my people + myself
Help A with AP stuff
Take time off
Go to laser place
Go places
Watch the sunset.
Drive somewhere new.
Here’s to another month. Paying attention. Loving my people. Savoring and living in awe. And taking steps to move onward.
March came and passed faster than it usually does. I am not sure if that’s a good thing or not but here we are. I am not usually a fan of this long month without any breaks so I am not sad to see March go. I have been feeling off for a while now and I feel like it finally crescendoed in March and forced me to do something about it. So net-net I will consider it a very useful month.
One Big Goal: Even though I did the full work for the garage, I didn’t do anything else. I decided that was enough. So I am giving myself grace for this one.
Progress on the big five:
Y: Totally, completely finished. Have been enjoying it regularly.
G: Also completely done here. Stuff in storage, car gone, my stuff cleaned. So much work.
S: Got the first appointment for about a week from now.
Sa: Not ready still.
D: Not sure what’s next for me here, I think I have to sit on it..
Three Medium goals:
Filed taxes!
Decided I didn’t need a fancy coffee machine after all.
Didn’t get anything fun for the garage, decided that can wait, too.
Start: I’ve done nothing here. Not sure why. Just am not feeling it.
Stop: I did relatively little of this one.
Continue: I did about half the portraits and then decided it was making me too unhappy. I give myself so much credit for quitting because I usually never quit anything.
Brave: Hmm took some brave steps but will take a while to see if they were the right ones.
It’s sort of interesting to find myself in March and done with the two biggest things I wanted to do this year. Let’s see where that takes me. I am super proud of all that I did. Good job moving onward, Karen.
I’ve decided to let myself rest for a bit so nothing new on the big goal yet. Maybe this weekend I will do some more.
Progress on the big five:
Y: Finished! Need a little break before phase two.
G: Phase two done, too! Break here, too before phase 3.
S: Nothing back from nurse, talked to other place, will make appointment this week.
Sa: no progress here, i think this will have to wait a bit.
D: Nothing on this, this week, have to do a trip to pickup next week, a bit anxious.
Three Medium goals:
Taxes finished, filed, paid.
Not buying this for now.
This will be phase 3 so it will wait for a bit.
Start: nope nope nope.
Stop: nope nope.
Continue: finally decided to take a break from portraits. Did more than 15, that was enough for now.
Brave: still actively working on this too.
So proud of myself and how much I am doing. Day by day, drop by drop.
Other things from this week:
We had parent teacher conferences this week and one of the teachers told my daughter that she wishes she had had a friend like her when she was in high school. I am so grateful that my kids went to this amazing, special middle/high school. It is one of the best things I ever managed to do for them.
I am so grateful that my kids still come to me for advice, for deep, meaningful and hard conversations. I learn so much from them and feel deeply lucky to have the type of relationship we do.
I still feel like I am struggling more than I would like. I’ve noticed a few years ago that when I am not well, I seem to regularly have the sensation of jumping out of my own skin and it’s been happening with some frequency in the last few months. I’ve taken some steps to get help, but it will take some time, so I just have to be patient with myself.
I am not sleeping at all. I am basically half-awake all night and it’s making the days more difficult. So until it gets better, I am trying to take as many naps as I can.
This is the happiest I have been at work in my 30-year career. I feel seen and supported and appreciated. And also I feel like I am working hard to make a difference and lift others up. I feel spacious and generous at work which I feel very grateful for.
I finally took a break from drawing faces and feel so much more comfortable doing what I love and having my downtime to not also be a struggle.
It’s been a bad season of books lately. I can’t seem to find something that holds my interest or speaks to me. I have started and stopped more books in the last six months than I have in years. I wish I could find a few books that really get me back into the rhythm of things.
I finally watched season one of Drops of God and it was really good. I’ve been enjoying a few other AppleTV shows. I don’t watch a lot of TV but when I do I seem to enjoy watching a bunch in a row. I hate watching one episode a week.
I am so incredibly grateful for Sadie every day. Since I got her, every single morning is happier. I wake up feeling joy. It’s been an indescribably positive change in my life.
Here’s to another week. Paying attention. Savoring and living in awe. And taking steps to move onward.
Ok month three, here we go. Historically I am not a fan of March because it’s a long month and has no days off but this March I am looking forward to making some progress and shifting into a slightly different mode.
Also, because I realized last month how not well I’ve been doing, I’ve decided the major focus for this month is going to have to be to regulate my nervous system. So I am going to work hard to not up the ante and set more and more goals because I want to encourage myself to learn to rest and regulate my system.
Big Goal: The big goal for this month is going to be to do a big pass in the house, especially garage, but also my bedroom and living room and the dreaded board game closet to see if I can prepare for one more big item trash pickup. So much for not generating big work but I think this will make me so happy if I can do it. Let’s see.
Progress on the big five:
Y: My big dream and hope is that this work will be finished in March and then I can see if I want any new furniture or setup here.
G: The goal here is to do one pass at my items.
S: The goal here is to get an answer to laser and ideally get a first appointment.
Sa: I don’t want to setup a goal for this in March.
D: I will have a few more airport trips in March, maybe that can be it?
Three Medium goals: (have 4 this month)
File taxes.
Find a coffee machine, ideally have a way to test it!
One pass of fun stuff for the garage.
Start: gosh darn it can i do the shuffling? also stretch daily?
Stop: no eating in bed 🙁
Continue: the 30 days of portraits
Brave: hmm i think i will have to be brave with what i have to do to regulate my nervous system so I will see if I can dive deep there and unearth what’s going on.
Here’s to another month. Paying attention. Loving my people. Savoring and living in awe. And taking steps to move onward.
Ok Month Two. Another crazy month in the world. When we think can things get worse, I feel like the universe is like yep they sure can. I don’t even know how to contain the amount of stress my body is carrying. My nervous system is at an all-time high for trying to figure out how to navigate the barrage of bad news coming every moment of every day. I feel like I reached a crescendo in February where my mental state is pretty broken and I find myself catastrophizing and going from zero to 100 in minutes. I am planning to spend some time regulating my nervous system.
Even though I felt like February wasn’t super productive, in the end I got a lot done and I feel like it was a strong month for moving forward.
One Big Goal: I did everything I needed to for the taxes. I am 99% done, just waiting for two updated forms and then I can file. So big pat in the back for this one.
Progress on the big five:
Y: Got really lucky on this one, signed contract, submitted and got approval by HOA!
G: Major progress here too, all packed, locker secured, movers secured. Car gone.
S: had several appointments, have a follow up waiting on it.
Sa: still completely stalling on this one, don’t think I am ready.
D: No major progress here but ok with that.
Three Medium goals:
Did so many food paintings! Super proud of myself.
Didn’t cook anything new or meaningful.
Did not do ANY peloton. Shame on me.
Insta has been all over the place.
I think these goals were not the right goals for me but alas so be it.
Start: Have been taking long walks as often as I can. Not daily but several times a week if I am lucky.
Stop: Have done better on this one too, not perfect but better on liquids/food in bed.
Continue: have been working on this on and off too. not perfect but progress.
Brave: Going on the trip definitely ended up being the brave thing for this month. It was so hard. So so hard.
Unplanned but did this month: got rid of car, did other taxes, started doing daily portrait challenge.
I am super proud of all that I did. Good job moving onward, Karen.
Here we are, one more week to go before February is over. It’s the fastest of the months.
Big Goal: Done with it all, except for the few things that won’t be ready until March. Done for this month on this one. It’s all just tiny details left now and then thankfully it’s on to the professionals.
Progress on the big five:
Y: I sent the initial funds too. Still waiting for them to redo and submit. Let’s hope it happens this week.
G: Still didn’t find movers yet. Will do one more sweep this week and see if I can get it done.
S: Done with blood tests. Just the Wed appointment now.
Sa: no progress here, i think this will have to wait a bit.
D: nothing for this one for now either.
Three Medium goals:
art: I totally didn’t think I would but I completely did this one! Good job, Karen.
cook: no update on this one.
peloton: not doing much on this either. but i will say I walked 85K steps during the week so I’ll count that for now.
insta: honestly haven’t been tracking this one, but consistently under my limit.
Start: i took one this week. but definitely not daily.
Stop: did not do this on vacation.
Continue: i did terrible last week. will try again this week.
Brave: i did a great job on the trip. many disasters but rescued each one. missed sadie like mad but came home safe and sound. good job, mama!
So proud of myself and how much I am doing. Day by day, drop by drop.
Here’s to another week. Paying attention. Savoring and living in awe. And taking steps to move onward.
Halfway through February already. It’s like January crawls and February sprints.
Big Goal: I did everything I can until the 21st. I also did the other two tasks I needed to do and I emailed the person who helps me with taxes so they know it’s coming. Nothing more to be done here until Saturday
Progress on the big five:
Y: All done here for what I can do, signed contract, paid deposit, signed hoa form, waiting for them to submit.
G: didn’t find movers yet. will hope/plan to schedule for next week if i can pull it off.
S: Next step is blood tests and the second appointment towards the end of the month.
Sa: no progress here, i think this will have to wait a bit.
D: nothing for this one for now either.
Three Medium goals:
art: I did two more this week so making progress here.
cook: honestly not sure i have bandwidth for this one right now, got the one but who knows if any more.
peloton: still, nothing happening here. the other work is my exercise atm.
insta: honestly haven’t been tracking this one, but not doing terribly most days
Start: totally failed on this one, will see if i can do better.
Stop: yea not doing this
Continue: so so on this one, working but not as consistently.
Brave: trip coming up!
I’m proud of all the progress I’ve made. Things are moving. Slowly but consistently.
Here’s to another week. Paying attention. Savoring and living in awe. And taking steps to move onward.
First week of February was a mixed bag. In some areas I got more done than I’d intended and in others I just gave up before I even started.
Big Goal: I did the first round on the taxes. Several of my forms don’t come out until Feb 21 so I won’t be able to finish it until then but I’ve done most of the work I can on the rest. I have one more task I can do between now and 21st so I will see if I can work on that this week.
Progress on the big five:
Y: Good news on this one. I got the sketches, asked for a small change but hoping it’s almost ready to be submitted for approval.
G: Done done done. Now to find movers and space.
S: Went through one appointment, feeling good about the plan so far. Next step is blood tests and the second appointment towards the end of the month.
Sa: no progress here, i think this will have to wait a bit.
D: nothing for this one for now either.
Three Medium goals:
art: I think 5-8 is going to be too many unless we count parts, if so I am 2 in but this will go slowly
cook: honestly not sure i have bandwidth for this one right now, got the one but who knows if any more
peloton: yea, nothing happening here. the other work is my exercise atm.
insta: honestly haven’t been tracking this one, but not doing terribly most days
Start: i am taking longer walks but not as long as i wished
Stop: yea not doing this
Continue: so so on this one, working but not as consistently.
Brave: trip coming up!
Other things I need to do this week: Our trip is coming up so I just have to prep.
I’m proud of all the progress I’ve made. Things are moving. Slowly but consistently.
Here’s to another week. Paying attention. Savoring and living in awe. And taking steps to move onward.
Ok month two, here we go. This is a weird month for me cause I already have some existing commitments and then will be taking a trip in the middle of the month and also have my kiddo coming to visit. So not super consistent schedule the whole month. I will still do the best I can to take some steps onward.
Big Goal: Taxes is going to be the big one here. I have to start working on taxes. If i am lucky, I can finish too but rarely do I get so lucky. I still need to work hard to make a meaningful dent here otherwise March will be really challenging.
Progress on the big five:
Y: For this one, my hope is that the HOA work is submitted and, if I am really lucky, approved. If I am really really lucky, work can begin in February, too.
G: Ok the Feburary goal here is to pack the other 8+ boxes, hire someone to finish the packing so I can rent the space and someone to deliver in March.
S: The goal here is hair plan and medicine plan.
Sa: For this one, I really really would like to come up with a plan I like that I can do.
D: Not sure what new to take on here for Feb. Not ready to rent yet so maybe just do pickup at SFO?
Three Medium goals: (have 4 this month)
art: 5-8 food paintings
cook: 5 dishes that are vegetable heavy that I can redo often
peloton: do ten classes a week
insta: no insta after 7pm (too much anxiety before bed)
Start: taking long walks with Sadie (ideally 20+ mins)
Stop: no liquid after 8pm except water / herbal
Continue: keeping some sort of good skin regimen. It’s something I can do even when on the road.
Brave: Not sure about this one yet. Going on this trip will be brave. Can we have that be it for Feb?
Here’s to another month. Paying attention. Loving my people. Savoring and living in awe. And taking steps to move onward.
