I learned how to ski when I was 3 years old. I was never super-good at it and still am not. But I am comfortable skiing. I don’t overthink it, I don’t worry about it constantly like I do with most other things and it’s one of the few sports I know how to do. Even though it’s expensive, hard-work, and mostly a PITA, I want to make sure my kids get enough exposure to skiing at a young age that they can choose whether they want to continue or not. In the last few years, the snow here has been pretty bad so we haven’t been able to ski much. But this year the snow is wonderful. So this past weekend, when David’s school was closed for conferences, we decided to get in the car and drive to Reno so we could go skiing at Diamond Peak. It’s a smallish resort and if you’re a serious skier you’d probably not like it.
But for us, it’s just fine. The kids took day-long classes both days and Jake and I skied together. Even though both of the kids didn’t really want to go to school on the second day, they each made a lot of progress and have gotten closer to being better skiers. I usually tire by the second day and don’t feel like going the whole day, but I was ok this time an skied pretty much two full days. (Though we did take long lunches.)
All in all, it was a great two days where we each made some lovely progress. We also got to exercise all day, get some wonderful fresh air and sunshine and spend a lot of family time together. All in all, a lovely two days. Here’s to more skiing in 2017!
Stories from 2017 is a year-long project for 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.
And here we go. One month down. Here are all the Loving Hearts from January 2017.
Here’s to some lovely art in February.
Loving Hearts is a Monthly Project for January 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.
Weekly Intention: I’d say this is a crazy week but I’m learning that there is no such thing. Every week is different and unusual in its own way. So there’s no such thing as a crazy week. Every day is full, sweet and I am grateful to have it. So anyhow, this week, I get to go to David’s school three times. I get to spend Monday and Friday with David. I get to have two client calls. A trip to work and a trip to the hairdresser. A ton of work, of course. And, on Saturday, if all goes well, I am flying to Sydney once again for work. But everything is for a good cause. All of these are because my life is full and layered and rich and I am so grateful. My intention this week is to pay attention to this rich and layered life I have. To notice and appreciate and live the moments. All the moment. School, life, work, family, alone time, friends, all of it. I want to pay attention. I want to be here, now, with all of the moments. Not wishing I were somewhere else, not worrying, stressing, hoping for something else. Being here, now. I also want to pay a bit of extra attention to my boys since I will be gone next week.
This month’s intention is: January is almost over so I’ll go with February’s intention: Shine from the Outside In: It might seem counter-intuitive but sometimes it helps to start with the outside. Take care of your body, your skin, your teeth. Dress in a way that makes you feel good. Show up and look the part. So I will spend some time this week thinking about what this means for me.
Ways to Shine this week:
- One: Bold: I don’t think I will have time this week but I would like to think about clothes this week. See what bold moves I can make there.
- Two: Open: I haven’t been that great at connecting with friends. I have two intentions this week. One is to email several friends to ask to join in on some of the work they do and two is to see if I can have lunch with at least one friend this week but being that I am going to Sydney, I would like to focus on my family this week.
- Three: Heal/Nourish: I’ve journaled a bit this week but not enough, I also dropped the traditional 7min exercise I was doing because of skiing, I’d like to get back on the wagon for both of those.
I am looking forward to: my flight to sydney. it’s long but also relaxing. also to david’s conference tomorrow. and to digging into some data I’ve been collecting at work.
This week’s challenges: a long friday this week and no weekend since i will be on the airplane. not ideal but still wonderful.
Top Goals:
- Work: second round of a routine i just started. a presentation i have to give. decoding all the data i’ve been collecting.
- Personal: a bit more art. some personal time. journaling.
- Family: do better with the food. spend time with my boys. celebrate david.
I will focus on my core desires (bold, mindful, nourish, love) by: slowing down this week. i want to spend time being a bit more mindful. can i do this?
This week, I will say yes to: a new structure for journaling. i don’t have any of my mornings at home this week so I will have to temporarily create a different structure for exercise and journaling.
This week, I will say no to: rushing, impatience, judgment (self and others.) fear.
I am worried that: I will not get enough done. i want to do two big projects at work before I am back from Sydney. I am not sure i can. I am worried that I will backslide on the eating and not exercise. I am worried about my trip to Sydney of course. I am worried it will not be enough or it will be too much. Or that the kids or Jake will not be ok. Or that it will not have been worth it. Some of these will take two weeks to find out. I am also worried I won’t get enough downtime.
This week, I want to remember: that life is passing me by as I try to figure out all these things. that while trying to improve is essential to my soul and who i am, it is also ok to rest and enjoy. i need to do both.
Three ways I shone this week:
- One: I took my family skiing. It was wonderful fun for all of us.
- Two: I supported Nathaniel on his Activity Day. I supported both my kids a lot this week.
- Three: I showed up at work, worked hard, and did my best.
I celebrate: two wonderful days of skiing. fresh air, exercise and family time.
I am grateful for: audiobooks and music. it’s what kept us all occupied and patient during the 10+ hours of driving this weekend.
I nourished myself by: exercising. resting. eating fresh.
Reflecting on my worries: I worried that i wouldn’t get enough art done. in the end, i have 11 pieces for February so far. That’s not perfect but it’s also not nothing. i haven’t started my big work project yet but i think it will be ok. Nathaniel’s activity day also went ok, I think. It’s hard to judge but he was happy and that’s all I care about at the moment. Skiing was tiring but not taxing. We came back Saturday night so I was able to rest for a week. I’ve been trying to be patient with my people. I feel better. Sad, scared but better. My soul is a bit lighter but still needs more work.
I let go of: being super strict with food this week. i did my best but not perfect.
Core Desire Check-in (bold, mindful, nourish, love):
- I’m still continuing to try to be bold at work. Personally, I have some plans for personal boldness, too.
- I’m mindful of some of the choices I was making. I am trying to make some plans for my family and for me. Still trying to find my way through some of what’s right for me, for us.
- I am still nourishing myself. Even when I eat some of the not-great stuff, I am trying to still eat the best of what I can.
- I love my family madly. I love the people out there fighting for what they believe in and I love the people who are trying to bring people together. I love people who are genuine and honest and doing their best everyday. That’s all I wish for all of us: compassion, kindness and love.
What made me laugh this week: maybe i should take this section off, i don’t ever seem to remember things that make me laugh.
What I tolerated this week: a lot of time in the car. to be fair, jake did all the driving, so i have no right to complain at all.
My mood this week was: busy but more peaceful. i worked hard, but then made time for my family.
I forgive myself for: being confused. not being perfect. struggling. having issues. being human.
What I love right now: fresh grown food. farmer’s market berries and eggs and tomatoes. so grateful.
Here’s to a wonderful week five!
You can read about the start of this project here.
It says: you have been assigned this mountain to show others it can be moved.
Loving Hearts is a Monthly Project for January 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.
You can read about the start of this project here.
It says: love is the bridge between you and everything.
Loving Hearts is a Monthly Project for January 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.
   
I started my week with Scythe because my friend Amy said it was her favorite YA read last year and this book has no audio so I sat and read it and I really loved it. Shuserman is a wonderful writer and I really enjoyed the different premise of this book. The utopian take, the lack of love triangle, the few twists and turns and the fantastic ending. A really enjoyable read.
I then decided to tackle The Diviners which I’d been intending to read for two years but hadn’t managed to. This book is long and it took me quite a while to get through it. In the end, I am glad I read it but I don’t think I will read the others in the series. At least not yet.
I wanted something different after I finished the Diviners so I read The Future of Us because it was checked out on my Overdrive. It was a quick read and had some interesting ideas around how our choices, our perspectives and the trickling impact of small events.
And finally I read the The Bear and the Nightingale because it was on Amazon’s top list for January. It wasn’t as smooth and easy to get through as I thought it would be. Maybe it’s because I listened to this one when I should have read it. But it was still interesting and the language is quite lovely. If fantastical stories are your thing, you might like this one. For me, it ended up being a slog and I could have done without it.
Not as much of a range this week. YA and fantasy/science fiction heavy. We’ll see what next week brings.
Books I Read this Week 2017 is a year-long project for 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.
You can read about the start of this project here.
It says: many people are alive but don’t touch the miracle of being alive.
Loving Hearts is a Monthly Project for January 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.
Here we go. It’s been tree weeks and I still don’t miss bread or rice or whatever else. I miss chocolate. I miss Coke Zero. I miss lattes. I miss crackers and cheese as a viable meal option. I am getting a bit sick of almonds and I am eating too many. I still eat no variety at all. This weekend we’re going away for the first time since I’ve started this, so we’ll see how it scales. And I also have been thinking about what I will do in February. Will I continue this or will i add some of these things back? Am I already trying to cheat? I am not sure.
Mind:
- I read: I read a lot this week, too. More detail tomorrow.
- I learned: I watched all the Be Still videos from last week. Nothing much else this week.
- I watched: Thank’s to swissmiss, I loved this save the shoes video. I didn’t watch much of anything this week except some TV.
- I’ve also been thinking about this a lot.
Body:
- Exercise: I did the 7-minute exercise once a day, everyday. Knee is better but still aches.
- Food: Still eating fresh food. No coffee, no soda. Lots of veggies.
- Skin: moisturized every day when i came out of the shower.
- Floss: flossed every night. love my floss.
- And More: still using the flouride-rich toothpaste.
Soul:
- I rested: I’ve tried to rest as much as possible this week. I slept in quite a bit on Sunday.
- I connected: I connected with my friend Sandra and also with my YA book club. They were both lovely. I also met with my new mentee group.
- I journaled: I journaled very little this week, too. I will fix this.
- I made art: I made a little more art. Still feeling uninspired but working on it.
Here’s to baby steps. Here’s to taking it one day at a time. I can do this.
Nourish Me Week 2017 is a year-long project for 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.
You can read about the start of this project here.
It says: the secret ingredient is always love.
this one is shiny 🙂
Loving Hearts is a Monthly Project for January 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.
One of the Christmas presents we got for Nathaniel was the awesome Makey Makey. He likes the idea of learning more about computer programming and is interested in hardware and software and we thought he’d like this simple but awesome one.
And he did.
We did the “play drums with the banana” and then the two of them did a big black button and played cookie game of some kind. Nathaniel even did the playdo challenge. This little thing is magic.
You can read about the start of this project here.
It says: it’s your road, and yours alone, others may walk it with you but no one can walk it for you.
Loving Hearts is a Monthly Project for January 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.
|
projects for twenty twenty-five
projects for twenty twenty-four
projects for twenty twenty-three
projects for twenty twenty-two
projects for twenty twenty-one
projects for twenty nineteen
projects for twenty eighteen
projects from twenty seventeen
monthly projects from previous years
some of my previous projects
|
