The Light at the End of the Tunnel is Getting Brighter!

Lately, I have not been a very good example of living the SWEET Life, but I see myself turning a corner . . . My ESL class at Chabot College ends on Tuesday, which will mean more nights at home, eating dinner with my family, making sure my girls get to bed at a decent hour, and ideally, having more time to spend with Nick!

Sleep: The last two nights I have slept well, despite whatever musical beds were being played with my daughters. But I only slept well 6 out of the last 12 nights!

Water: I haven't been drinking enough or paying enough attention to it. Some days I'll fill my pitcher, determined to drink it all, but then I'll be out of the house much of the day or something that throws off my water intake. I'm sure I'd feel better if I drank more and cleaned out my system. It's been about 10 days since I know I drank 8 cups of water in a day.

Eating: That's been a mess too. Mostly, I haven't been paying attention to what I've been eating. Also, I haven't been grocery shopping very much because I'm gone for dinner so often. The end result is that we don't have great food around the house, and I can't honestly say that I've eaten a balanced, healthy diet for the past week.

Exercise: I've been a bit sick this week, so I only exercised Monday and Tuesday. Today, I really should have, but I didn't. Surprisingly, I just bought a new pair of running shoes, which usually really motivates me to go running, but despite having them for a week, I haven't used them yet! It doesn't feel like it to me, but besides this week's illness, I had been exercising 5x/wk.

Tranquility: I don't feel like I've had much Tranquility lately. It seems that whenever I have free time, I spend it doing things that need to be done, like preparing my ESL class, rather than what I would like to do. I don't even know what I would like to do anymore! There are just so many things that I don't know where to start! I've had Tranquility 3 out of 6 days this week.

How did I do, and how do I feel?
Today, I had a S_ _ _ T Life.

I've been looking forward to finishing my ESL teaching for so long that that has been my only focus. Everything else has been put aside until after that class is over, so all free time has been devoted to doing what I can to finish the class (lesson planning, grading, thinking ahead to the final exam, etc.). I was smart enough to set aside 4 hours today to spend preparing my final exam. Nick took the girls out of the house, and I worked and worked. They actually came back, lunch in hand, after 3 1/2 hr, and I think I could have finished writing my final if I'd had that extra 1/2 hr. But it's good to know that I'm 90% finished writing it. Working, focused, for that block of time made me feel really relaxed afterwards, like I could just enjoy the rest of my Saturday with my family.

1/2 Week Synopsis

I feel a light at the end of the tunnel at the moment. Of course, it will be short lived. I was so backed up with schoolwork to grade and yet another test to write that it was having an adverse effect on my SWEET Life. But I've finally gotten caught up, only to give a test (which gives me a break during class time), which I will, then, have to grade.

The first few days of the week, I was skipping one aspect of the SWEET Life daily, but a different one each day. Today, however, I've already skipped both Sleep and Exercise, both of which I've already skipped once this week.

Sleep
I slept enough Monday and Tuesday nights, but not the past 2 nights. Right now I'm ready for a big night's sleep!

Water
Somehow, I didn't drink enough water on Monday, and I don't think I have today, but I did on Tuesday and Wednesday. However, my 2-a-day caffeine drinking has become a habit. :-(

Eating
I've eaten pretty well this week, a healthy variety, but on Tuesday, due to stress, I ate a lot of chocolate.

Exercise
So far, I've only had time to exercise Tuesday and Wednesday this week, but I want to the rest of the days.

Tranquility
I have had Tranquility every day this week! Hurrah! Of all things, during a stressful time, at least I've gotten a break from it a little every day.

How did I do, and how do I feel?
This week, the past 4 days, I have had a SSWWWEEE EETTTT Life.

A semi-SWEET Life is better than nothing!

Over the past month or two, I've been blogging less frequently, about every 7-10 days instead of every 2-4 days. The reason is that I've been so busy that (1) I haven't had time to blog and (2) I haven't been living the SWEET Life as consistently. Because of that, I have to grudgingly admit that my scale has tipped up a few pounds and my clothes are a bit tighter than they used to be.

At the same time, I know that living the SWEET Life has prevented me from gaining a lot more weight due to the stress of being overly busy. I'm not stressed, my diet isn't out of control, exercise isn't a thing of the past, and plentiful sleep isn't a distant memory. Before living the SWEET Life, all of this would have been the case, being as busy as I am right now. In the past, I would have just focused on completing the tasks I needed to complete without regard to any of the aspects of the SWEET Life. Sleep, Water, Eating, Exercise and Tranquility would all have suffered and my body would have been a mess.

Therefore, I do thank the SWEET Life for mitigating most of the effects of living an overly busy life. In the past month or so, I've been generally pretty good about getting enough sleep and tranquility, and I've been exercising 4 times a week instead of 5. However, I have not been good about paying attention to eating well, and I haven't been drinking 8 cups of water per day. So today, once again, I try to be diligent and live the SWEET Life fully.

Sleep
I slept 7 hr last night. Zoe did come in at her usual 3 a.m., but she fell right back to sleep and didn't move around much, so it didn't bother me too much.

Water
I filled up my pitcher and have been drinking it. I also made homemade mint lemonade with my girls, which I've had 2 cups of. Mmm, good!

Eating
I'm keeping track on my SWEET Life Plan today so that I eat a better balance of food groups (i.e., enough fruits and vegies)

Exercise
I ran at the gym and did my ab exercises.

Tranquility
My girls are napping, so I'm trying to get stuff done, which makes me feel good.

How did I do, and how do I feel?
Today, I 'm living the SWEET Life!