Category: Reflections & Lifestyle

If you are new to my blog; I have been setting three small goals each month. In January, I focused on my physical health. In February, I focused on my mental health. “I made the most (of what I started)” in March and I tried to “finish what I started” in April. 

May is my “birthday month” so as I head into my 37th year I just want to stop and take a moment to think about what I have accomplished so far and how I have set myself up for another trip around the sun. Ultimately, over the past four months I have been able to make real changes in my life! I am still consistently getting exercise (and have even improved my yoga practice), drinking more water than I normally did in 2022, making smarter choices when it comes to eating. As a result I am down 20 pounds and feeling great. I am still journaling, meditating and reading everyday –those things have become an unconscious practice. I was also able to scratch something off my ‘bucket list,’ give up coffee and develop better sleeping habits. 

The goals for this month don’t have a theme, perhaps they are about the “little things that make a big difference!”

1. Curbing tendency to “binge”
   I struggled with binge eating in my youth and over the years I have noticed that I have an addictive personality; I even took a test –I am in the “moderate to high” category. I have been addicted to food/not eating, to exercise, to hobbies, etc. During the pandemic I binged watched A LOT of shows on Netflix; and then as I got more streaming services; it only got worse. We all joke about “binge watching” but I have lost that ability to “savour” a series. I think restoring a little balance in this respect will help me with balance overall. So I am going to only allow myself to watch ONE episode of a show each night.
   
2. Improve posture
   I chronically slouch; my back and neck are always sore. I do a lot of yoga (lately) and that helps release the tension but once the session is over I am back to slouching. There really isn’t an easy fix for this, it is going to take a lot of conscious attention on my part. I looked up some TIPS.
   
3. Get new bras
   We have all heard that most women are wearing the wrong bra size and that a “good bra” can improve confidence, prevent sagging and other issues. I am the worst when it comes to my bras; I buy them and then wear them until they literally fall apart; and this is NOT hyperbole! I just threw out all my bras; most of which I bought over a year ago and ordered some new ones that actually fit properly!

What goals are you setting this month?

I can’t believe how fast April flew by!  I have been setting three goals each month since the New Year; I focused on physical health and then mental health and then I “made the most of” March. For April, I decided on the theme of “Finishing What I Started…,” because I felt like I was losing a bit of momentum and I was unable to fully accomplish my goals. To keep myself accountable I’m checking in monthly with you all. As a refresher, my goals were…

1. Continue to work through the 113 yoga workouts on the NTC app.
2. Switch to tea.
3. Re-visit my sleep routine. 

How did I do?

In terms of goal #1, I managed to make it through 94 workouts and I am feeling fantastic. Originally, when I set the goal there were 109 workouts and then NTC added 5 more workouts. Technically, I am only doing 113 of 114 because one of them is a handstand prep sequence and I am not comfortable doing that. 19 workouts left!

In terms of goal #2, I set a goal in January about decreasing coffee so this was a throwback to that; although I accomplished that original goal by reducing consumption to one cup a day. But since my tea order arrived I have been starting my day with a cup of tea and to be honest I don’t miss coffee. My skin is looking better and I think the effects have carried over into improving my sleep.

In terms of goal #3, over the course of the month I researched and tried out some small tactics to prevent myself from feeling tired when I woke up. Which included: no reading on my ipad before bed, mint oil on temples, switched up the linens on the bed and my pillow, consistent bedtime and increased the darkness. I definitely think that it will take a bit of time to see the results from this and it will be an ongoing process.

I can’t believe how fast March flew by!  I have been setting three goals each month since the New Year; I focused on physical health and then mental health. For March, I decided on the theme of “Making the Most of…” To keep myself accountable I’m checking in monthly with you all. As a refresher, my goals were…

1. Do all the yoga workouts on my Nike Training Club app
2. Decluttering
3. Having High Tea at the Empress

How did I do?

In terms of the yoga workouts; I wasn’t able to complete all 109 yoga workouts on NTC. One was a handstand tutorial which I wasn’t comfortable doing considering I’ve had neck issues. I did complete 63 and I’m still working through them. I even do the pregnancy ones. I just modify the movements/positions as needed. I ended up combining shorter workouts/routines. So I will have to continue this goal into April. I have been able to continue on with my January and February goals too!

In terms of decluttering; I managed to do one space. Which is still good! This may sound like an excuse but normally I do a hard core decluttering in the summer… It is easier to pile up donated stuff in the garage or porch when there isn’t a ton of snow on the ground and very cold temps. Doing a declutter in the summer means I have more time to make donation runs or go to the dump with truly worn out things. I think this is a great goal but it was scheduled poorly. Three other factors that interfered were that I also got really into a new book series and I spent a lot of time with friends; birthday parties, going to the theater twice and shopping. And teaching in March is a bit of a nightmare… I definitely needed to set a goal that was more in line with restoration of energy rather than another hard arduous task.

In terms of my third goal; High Tea was amazing! so I successfully accomplished that goal! We also said YES to a lot of other fun activities: food & drink tour of Victoria, forever jewelry and so much more!

Having bid 2022 a long overdue “adieu,” I spent some time thinking about what I wanted 2023 to be. Every year I tell myself that “this is my year, this is the year I’m going to get started.” Started on what?, I am not sure. 2022 was another tough year, the heartbreak often overshadowed the incredible moments. I lost momentum a lot in 2022; it seemed like the second I dusted myself off, something else hit me hard. Two steps forward, one step back. Most resolutions have been abandoned by now, so I didn’t make any. Instead, I decided that each month I am going to set a series of THREE different challenges or goals.

The focus of February was Mental Health: journalling, reading instead of scrolling and meditating. I am going to try and continue on with those goals but I am going to add the following…

March 2023: “Making the Most of…”

(…my Nike Training Club app)
1. Do ALL of the 106 Yoga Workouts
-I have been absolutely loving the ones I have done so far (25)… 81 left to go!

(…my down time)
2. Declutter one space each day
-I’d like to donate as much stuff as a I can

(…my Spring Break)
3. Have High Tea at the Empress Hotel in Victoria
-This has been on my bucket list for a while; so I am going to finally treat myself

Wishing you all the best this month!

Our vegetable garden is huge and we have MANY flower beds; so my war against weeds is a never ending battle. Between the unusual amount of rain and scorching heat it seems like the only thing growing is weeds. Weeding is a pain in the butt and it is made worse because of all the mosquitos who seem immune to anything that is designed to kill or repel them. Our next door neighbour has a green thumb beyond compare. I have been trying to pick her brain about how to fight the pesky weeds.

1. Stop pulling them!
-It is better to slice and sever the roots rather than disturbing the weeds. When you pull weeds you wake them up.

2. Use mulch!
-I often use mulch to help my perennials survive over the winter. But I didn’t realize that mulch creates a dark atmosphere which prevents the growth of weeds and using mulch in your flower beds actually supports the lives of insects that eat weed seeds.

3. Fabric does work!
-It prevents the seeds dropped by birds from getting into the soil. Using fabric between the rows in a vegetable garden with cut down on the time you spend weeding.

4. If you are going to pull weeds, it is a important to adhere to the age old adage of “pull when wet; hoe when dry”

5. Get to your weeds BEFORE they go to seed!
-Don’t wait! But if you don’t have time or your soil is too dry then it is crucial that you cut the heads off any weeds; otherwise the battle is lost before it even begins.

6. Spacing is everything!
-I used to leave lots of space between my rows and plants so that we could get the rototiller in. Since we have gotten the tiller, it has cut down my time BUT this summer in particular was incredibly wet. So wet in fact the garden flooded several times. My neighbour told me that if you don’t/can’t till it’s better that you space plants close together. Just like weeds can choke out plants; plants spaced closely together can choke out weeds.

7. Don’t water your weeds!
-As convenient as it might be to just put the sprinkler on to water the whole garden; you are actually aiding the enemy. Water only what you want to grow!

There has been a lot of talk this year about “being intentional,” so far in all the professional development sessions I have attended. It comes up in sessions about teaching practice, mental health, self care and achieving goals. It’s such a lofty topic. The most common definition is that “when you are intentional, you choose to make decisions and take action on what’s important to you. Being intentional means getting clear upfront about what you want to achieve. You intentionally set an intention to achieve a specific outcome or result in the future that is important to you.” That’s great but how do you accomplish that? It’s so difficult to put into practice; however, I have been introduced to some really great resources. So, for those of you who are wanting to be more intentional in your daily life, you may be interested in some of these too!

1. THE ULTIMATE INTENTIONAL PLANNER: 2022 EDITION
2. Gretchen Rubin’s podcast: Happier
3. Rachel Kable’s podcast: The Mindful Kind
4. Before You Know It by John Bargh, PhD
5. Rest, Refocus, Recharge: A Guide for Optimizing Your Life by Greg Wells, PhD
6. Mantras
7. Strides app
8. Science of Well-Being offered through Coursera

Summer is coming and I am really trying to be “intentional.” I am trying to be productive and have fun. Sometimes, I get into a bit of a funk when the school year ends. I “take a break” but then it becomes a slump and I end up spending way more time on the couch “vegging out” than actually having fun and doing something with my time. This has really become an issue the last couple of years; maybe it’s my age or just the circumstances going on in my personal and professional life.

So much of my time is highly “routinized” externally to me; so maybe I just struggle being in charge of my own routine.
Or perhaps, it is because I am so emotionally and physically burnt out that I “simply can’t” whenever I do have free time.
Or maybe it’s because I just don’t know where to start because I am not used to having much down time for 10 months out of the year.

Whatever the case may be, I sat down and made a list of all the things that I want to do this summer (in addition to camping/fishing with my husband of course) and I brainstormed what that could look like. From this I’ll make a weekly schedule for myself.

Sample Weekly Plan (July 3-9)…

If you have any great resources, feel free to share! Comment below.