Tuesday, January 29, 2008

A New Start: New Schedule, New Rewards

Last week, I lived the SWEET Life pretty well:

Sleep 5
Water 6
Eating 5
Exercise 4
Tranquility 6

Sleep
I've been making a point to sleep long enough so that if I don't sleep well, I still come out with at least 7 hours sleep. I'm hoping things will change starting tonight, after Zoe's annual Dr. appointment. Her pediatrician gave me some good advice about getting my girls to sleep in their own beds and stay in their own beds! Their middle of the night wakings are what prevent me from sleeping well. This week, so far I'm 2 for 2 on sleep.

Water
I'm finally remembering to take water with me to the gym and to my ESL class. That helps. I'm filling my pitcher with water at home, but it's important for me to be drinking when I'm out of the house too, especially if I'm exercising or out of the house for several hours! So far this week, I'm 1 for 1 and we'll see how the rest of today goes . . .

Eating
I've set up a new schedule where I cook Friday-Sunday, and we eat leftovers or frozen, quick cooks Monday-Thursday (when I work at night). So far, so good. I'm 1 for 1 this week, and doing pretty well so far today . . .

Exercise
I'm back in the habit of exercising Mondays-Fridays so that I can take off the weekends. I prefer that to having to "catch up" on the weekends. I'm 2 for 2 this week.

Tranquility
I've been able to rest and relax. It always helps when the girls nap. That's also part of my new schedule and pediatricians's advice about getting my girls to nap.


How did I do, and how do I feel?
Yesterday, I had a SWEET Life.

I feel a bit more organized and in control, even though my schedule just got much busier. I started working 4 nights a week last week, so I took some time to figure out what my new schedule needed to look like: (1) I wanted to get us ready sooner in the mornings. (2) I needed to make sure to have play time with my girls. (3) I needed to make sure I had time to eat an early dinner before work. (4) I needed to make sure I could get to bed early enough to sleep long enough and still get up to exercise in the morning. (5) I needed to be more consistent about "quiet time" so that my girls could get their naps in and not have to be woken up, and at the same time, I don't want them sleeping so long during the afternoon that they were up late at night.

The pediatrician gave me advice about having a reward system to encourage the girls to behave how I want them to. I figured out a way to do it in an eco-friendly manner (i.e., without consumption or waste). Now I just have to really encourage it and become consistent with it.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

Sleep
I have not been sleeping enough the past few nights, again. This time was a different story, though. I had a lot going on yesterday, Jan. 22, so I lost some sleep Sunday and Monday preparing for the day. Because of that, I was really tired yesterday and drank a lot more caffeine than usual, which caused me not to sleep well last night! Aargh! I'm being more conscientious of my caffeine intake today so that I can sleep well tonight.

Water
Like I said above, I drank a lot of caffeine yesterday, three drinks instead of my usual one to two. I did, also, drink ample water though.

Eating
I'm trying to be more conscientious about eating a healthy balance; some days I don't know if I eat enough veggies. We ate both salad and snap peas for dinner last night, so that helped.

Exercise
I forced myself to exercise today, despite being tired, because I had skipped both Monday and Tuesday. I don't like to skip two days in a row, and I certainly do everything possible not to skip three days in a row. So I did an easy cardio workout while half-asleep at the gym. And some abs; I always need to do abs.

Tranquility
Yesterday was Zoe's 2nd b-day, so after my busy morning and before my busy evening, I had a fun, relaxing afternoon with Zoe, Maya and Nick. Of course, Zoe was napping for part of that time, which gave me a chance to check email and the like.

How did I do, and how do I feel?
Yesterday, I had a _ WE_T Life.
There were three things that I'd been working towards all month, and they all took place yesterday. I had a Moms In Business meeting, and I wanted to have my website online for it (livingthesweetlife.net). I started teaching an ESL (English as a Second Language) class at Chabot College, so I needed to prepare for it. And it was Zoe's 2nd birthday, which meant that I wanted to be fully prepared for the other things so that I could enjoy her birthday without being distracted. They all took place and everything went very smoothly because I was well prepared. I'm very excited and motivated about all three things, in fact. Now, I can get around to doing everything I've left to the wayside for the past week or so!

Friday, January 18, 2008

Follow-Through Makes a Positive Difference

Sleep
I've been sleeping very deeply this week, and I've been having lots of dreams. I think I"m making up for last week's lack of sleep. I'm 4 out of 5 this week.

Water
I'd say this week I've been drinking a variety of beverages, rather than just water. Some juice, soda, beer, wine, extra coffee, etc. It does all count as hydration, however, water is the best. I'm 4 out of 4 so far this week.

Eating
I haven't planned out my dinners for the week for the past few weeks. I really eat better if I do. My schedule is going to change next week, and I'll be working through dinner M-Th. Because of that, I'm going to start cooking Fri-Sun and not worry about dinner at all the other days of the week, which is a little strange. Sure, I'll buy some quick cooks like frozen meals, pasta and jarred sauce, etc. and I'll make sure to cook enough to have leftovers when I do cook. But it's strange to think that I won't be cooking or even home for dinner all week! I'll also have to remember to eat dinner early, before I leave for work! This week I'm 3 out of 4 for eating.

Exercise
I've gotten into a routine of going to the gym with my friend who just joined on M,W, F mornings, which is great! I do 30 min. cardio and some abs and stretching on those days, and she does 45-60 min. cardio. Today, because I hadn't done any toning exercises all week, I did my quick and dirty toning workout after my 30 min. cardio. I was pleasantly surprised that I finished most of it before she finished her 15 extra minutes of cardio. Then, we did some abs together. When I got home, my daughters were still asleep, so I was able to finish the last 10 minutes of my toning and stretching. I'm supposed to be doing my quick and dirty toning workout on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at home, but it's hard to get up so early every day. This week, I'm only 3 out of 5 for exercise, which is why I did my double workout today. Tomorrow, I have a personal training appointment at the club, so I'll run over there and get another cardio workout in for the week. I might do some toning on Sunday so that I'll get in 2 toning workouts. They really make a big difference. So many people are only concerned with doing cardio, but it's the toning that made a big difference for me. First, more muscle = higher metabolism = I can eat more! Second, I really thinned down and could see the muscles under my skin. Yes, eat more and thinned down!

Tranquility
Yesterday, my girls did not nap, which meant I got no tranquility. :-( By the time dinner was over, I really needed some time away from my girls, after 13-14 hours straight with them. Surprisingly, after her bath, Maya wanted to come in and be with me, instead of with her father who'd been at work all day . I don't understand that: aren't my kids tired of me too? Why don't they want to spend some time with their fun father whom they'd hardly seen all day? Today, Maya isn't napping, but she's watching a movie so that I can get a few things done while Zoe naps. I'm 4 out of 5 for this week.

How did I do, and how do I feel?
Today, so far, I've had a S_ _ ET Life; I'll have to see how well I follow through on the Water and Eating the rest of the day. For the rest of this week, it's:
S = 4/5
W = 4/5
E = 3/5
E = 3/5
T = 4/5
I feel pretty good today, which is saying a lot on a Friday! However, Wednesday evening until Thursday evening, I felt quite foggy-headed. I couldn't think clearly, and I felt like I couldn't see straight. Whenever I'm not feeling my best, I think about the SWEET Life and what I might be missing. Am I sleep-deprived? Am I dehydrated? Am I eating too much junk or not enough nutritious food? Am I being sedentary? Am I stressed out? All those things lower people's energy-levels and clarity. For me, it could have been a little bit of all those things: making up for last week's lack of sleep, drinking beverages that were not necessarily water, not eating enough nutritious food, not exercising daily, and not having enough time to complete everything I need to. Thank goodness the weekend is almost here!

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Time Dilemmas

Sleep
Does it count if I don't sleep 7-8 hours but I wake up feeling refreshed? Compare that to the opposite: trying to sleep 8 hours but being constantly interrupted and waking up feeling like I needed four more hours of sleep! And there you have my last two nights of sleep, in opposite order. Strangely, after not sleeping well at all Friday night, I'm surprised that I was able to stay up so late (watching a DVD) last night and that I woke up so early feeling refreshed! So, I'm going to count last night as a good night's sleep, even though it wasn't 7-8 hours. That gives me a pitiful total of 3 full nights of sleep this week!

Water
The last two days I haven't been drinking enough water. Yesterday, I hardly drank anything until noon! Today, I filled my pitcher first thing and am going to make sure to drink my two quarts so that I reach my weekly goal of 5 days of good hydration.

Eating
Yesterday, I also didn't eat anything until noon, when, of course, I was starving. All afternoon I felt like I could never get enough to eat, so I constantly wanted to eat more. Bad, bad, bad! All I really needed to do was to have eaten some breakfast so that I had some fuel to burn in the morning. That would have kept my energy, hunger, insulin and blood sugar levels all in check for the morning, and lunch would have replenished me for the afternoon. Today I need to eat healthily in order to reach my goal of 5 days of healthy eating this week.

Exercise
I am refocused and re-energized to exercise routinely again. I did skip Thursday, knowing I would exercise on Saturday. I did cardio at the gym on M, W, F and did toning exercises at home Tuesday. Saturday, I walked to the gym and a little beyond, did toning exercises there, and ran home. I'm 5 for 5 this week, so today is a day off.

Tranquility
Yesterday, after my horrible night's rest, I got tranquility in the form of a big fat nap, alone in my bed (i.e., no kids taking up space!). I also got a little time to myself (<30 min) before Zoe woke up from her nap. So far, I'm 6 for 6 this week on Tranquility. I also had a date with a group of friends and no kids. It was great to be able to talk to these friends without being interrupted by children's needs/demands!

How did I do, and how do I feel?
Yesterday, I had only a _ _ _ ET Life.
I feel busy, like I'm not getting enough work done. I'm living a pretty SWEET Life, but I need to be spending time on both the SWEET Life website and preparing my ESL class to teach at Chabot College.,I haven't been spending enough time on either of those things because they require chunks of time (1 hr+), which is harder to find than small bursts of time (5-30 min). There are just too many things that I want to do and not enough time to do all of them. I think most people would forgo the SWEET Life because of work, but living the SWEET Life is the foundation of my life to which I add other things.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

The Organizational Time of the Year

Sleep
Last night I slept horribly! It was musical beds: Maya refused to sleep in her bed so she slept in ours. I couldn't sleep well because I couldn't move freely due to her presence. Then, Zoe woke up screaming for me at 3:40, so I got up to get her. She and I slept in Maya's empty bed, but Zoe rolled around for a bit before falling back asleep, keeping me awake. I'm 0 for 3 in good nights' sleep this week. :-(

Water
I've been drinking enough water lately. Since I have easy control over that, compared to sleep, I just fill up my pitcher with 2 quarts and make sure to drink it all by dinnertime. I'm 9 for 9 this month so far.

Eating
I've been focusing on eating better since the post-New Years lull. It helps to plan meals and go to the store. I got a crock pot for Christmas, so I've been throwing food in there to cook all afternoon, which makes for an easy, healthy dinner. Since it's winter, root vegetables abound, which cook well in the crock pot, and stews and other comfort foods smell and taste wonderful, which are also crock pot-friendly. I'm 6 for 6 since Jan. 3.

Exercise
This week I've gotten back into my old exercise routine of early mornings: Monday, Wednesday, Friday 30-minutes of cardio, and Tuesday, Thursday 30-minutes of toning exercises. That worked quite successfully for me last September - November, but I burned out in December and experimented with other, less successful routines. I'm 3 for 3 this week.

Tranquility
Tranquility has been the easiest part of the SWEET Life for me. However, that didn't use to be the case. It's really good that I think about getting some stress-relief every day because I didn't use to think much about it, and I used to be much more stressed out, especially as each week wore on. Now that I spend time each day, when my girls nap, asking myself what I'm going to do that will make me feel good about myself today, I realize my stress is in much better control. I don't stress "out" because my stress isn't allowed to build up. I'm 9 for 9 this month.

How did I do, and how do I feel?
Yesterday, I had a _WEET Life.
I'm in organizational mode. Why do we all organize in January? All the stores have organizational products on special this time of year. Part of it is that we have to pack up the Christmas decorations; hopefully, in an organized fashion. Part of it for me is that my husband got a "valet" for Christmas; it's a small divided box for his wallet, coins, keys, etc. At first I thought it was a recharging station for small electronics like cell phones, MP3 players, cameras, etc. But that made me think that perhaps we could use a recharging station. I also saw a tidbit on a show about reorganizing a small office without a lot of extra space. The organizer took advantage of the wall space and put a lot of the desktop stuff on the wall, which would be a good idea for me, too. Then there was our New Year's Eve party when Nick cleared a bunch of stuff out of our office s0 that people could put their coats and purses in there. The office looks so much better without all that stuff in there, but, of course, it's all in boxes up in our bedroom now. We, unfortunately, have a lot of "homeless" stuff which sits in boxes in various places around the house (because we don't have a garage). I told Nick I want us to work on one, small, organizational project each weekend. Last weekend was putting Christmas away. This weekend will be finding homes for all the stuff that used to live on the floor of the office and is now in our bedroom.

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Back Pain!

Sleep
Yesterday, I woke up before 6:00 for some reason and couldn't get back to sleep, so I didn't get 7 hours of sleep. 0 for 1 on the SWEET Life

Water
I made an effort to drink enough water yesterday, although I was also drinking other things like soda, cider, beer, champagne (at a party). 1 for 2 on the SWEET Life

Eating
I ate pretty healthily yesterday, I think. 2 for 3 on the SWEET Life

Exercise
For the first time in days, my back felt better, so I took a nice walk with a friend after the rain stopped. 3 for 4 on the SWEET Life

Tranquility
I went to a friend's baby shower, which included just a handful of close friends, no kids, no extended familiy members, etc. It was great to hang out with these close friends and chat about everything. 4 for 5 on the SWEET Life.

How did I do, and how do I feel?
Yesterday, I had a _WEET Life.
The past week, I've had a lot of lower back pain. By Friday, I could hardly get out of bed, so I skipped exercise on Friday. Ibuprofen wasn't working, but I started icing my back, which helped. Yesterday (Saturday), I woke up feeling better but not great. I took 4 ibuprofen, instead of 3, iced my back and went to the baby shower. At some point during the party, all pain disappeared! I couldn't believe it, but I was grateful to feel better. This morning I woke up feeling a lot better than I had the previous two mornings, but now, sitting at the computer, it's starting to hurt again, which is part of why I haven't been at the computer much the past several days!

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Happy SWEET New Year!

Happy New Year! It's time to start fresh with the SWEET Life. Start "fresh?" What was "spoiled" about yesterday's SWEET Life? Anyway, how'd I do today?

Sleep
Ah, to sleep in! Actually, I was woken up by Zoe, but at least it wasn't until 6:30, rather than her usual 3:30! I didn't intend to stay up until midnight last night and went to bed around 11:30, so that makes 7 hr. Good for me! A good start!

Water
I'm being very conscientious about drinking a lot of water today because I drank a lot of champagne yesterday. So, I'm 2 for 2: Sleep & Water.

Eating
Despite intentions of eating well today, it didn't happen, unfortunately. Not a good start to the year. We met the family for Chinese dim sum, which is typically oil, refined grains (noodles & rice) and meat. I never think of it as healthy. Always lacking in veggies. Then, later this afternoon, I totally pigged out on snacks leftover from our New Year's Eve party! I'm not usuallly like that, but I had pita chips and potato chips until I was sick from the salt. Then I ate baby veggies to make up for the unhealthy stuff, but then I ate brownies & cheesecake for my "snack dessert!" No wonder why I wasn't hungry for dinner! Oh, horrible! I'll focus on healthy eating tomorrow.

Exercise
I planned not to exercise today because it was a holiday. At the same time, there's nothing special about today that would prevent me from exercising. In any case, I've exercised the past 3 days in a row and had planned to skip today, so I did.

Tranquility
Ah, tranquility . . . Yes, I got some nice tranquility today, taking a nap, watching the Rose Bowl, reading the paper, etc. Also, Nick cleared out our office and it's very nice to have an uncluttered space around my desk. It should always be this way, but things creep in and eventually cover all horizontal spaces. Having it cleared off adds to the tranquility of my work space.

How did I do, and how do I feel?
Today, I had a SW_ _T Life.
Well, my tummy feels like it's been abused, but otherwise, I look forward to a great 2008. I want this to be the year of the SWEET Life.