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!
Showing posts with label weekend. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weekend. Show all posts
Friday, January 18, 2008
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.
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.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Life has gotten SWEETer!
Whenever I'm sick, I try to focus on living the SWEET Life even more, and sure enough, it's worked again and I feel much better today than I have in the past week. :-)
Sleep
I slept in (I mean, it IS the weekend!) and got plenty of sleep. Zoe didn't even wake up last night! Maya did, but she came into our room quietly and crawled, hardly waking me. In addition, I was happy to turn off my automatic exercise alarm! No more early morning workouts!
Water
I moved my pitcher to a location where I'll be more conscious of it, and that did help me make sure to drink it all today, by dinnertime.
Eating
I ate well today. Nick made French toast with strawberries for breakfast, yum! We ate leftovers for both lunch and dinner, but it ended up being quite a nice array of foods at each meal: grapes, burritos, chicken, quesadillas, stir-fried broccoli & snap peas, steamed rice, beef chow fun, artichoke, steak and salad. Hmm, perhaps I was a bit short on dairy products, but I was planning on having some ice cream for dessert!
Exercise
Although I don't usually exercise on the weekends, I skipped exercising 3 days last week, so I exercised both weekend days to make up for it. I also decided to change my workout schedule to do it during my girls' naps, which means I won't be able to leave the house, so I might as well plan for one weekend day when I can go out of the house and run.
Tranquility
I got a chance to catch up on some things, which always makes me feel good. Last week, I missed out on Tranquility a few days, so I really needed to make up for it this weekend, and I did. It was nothing very exciting to write about, but I just finished up some things that made me feel accomplished.
How do I feel?
I'm feeling healthier today than I have all week, and I feel a bit back on track. I've figured out my new exercise routine, which is important, and I'm happy to sleep in until the rest of the family gets up during the week, instead of getting up early to exercise. Really focusing on living the SWEET Life the past day or two has really helped everything fall nicely into place.
Sleep
I slept in (I mean, it IS the weekend!) and got plenty of sleep. Zoe didn't even wake up last night! Maya did, but she came into our room quietly and crawled, hardly waking me. In addition, I was happy to turn off my automatic exercise alarm! No more early morning workouts!
Water
I moved my pitcher to a location where I'll be more conscious of it, and that did help me make sure to drink it all today, by dinnertime.
Eating
I ate well today. Nick made French toast with strawberries for breakfast, yum! We ate leftovers for both lunch and dinner, but it ended up being quite a nice array of foods at each meal: grapes, burritos, chicken, quesadillas, stir-fried broccoli & snap peas, steamed rice, beef chow fun, artichoke, steak and salad. Hmm, perhaps I was a bit short on dairy products, but I was planning on having some ice cream for dessert!
Exercise
Although I don't usually exercise on the weekends, I skipped exercising 3 days last week, so I exercised both weekend days to make up for it. I also decided to change my workout schedule to do it during my girls' naps, which means I won't be able to leave the house, so I might as well plan for one weekend day when I can go out of the house and run.
Tranquility
I got a chance to catch up on some things, which always makes me feel good. Last week, I missed out on Tranquility a few days, so I really needed to make up for it this weekend, and I did. It was nothing very exciting to write about, but I just finished up some things that made me feel accomplished.
How do I feel?
I'm feeling healthier today than I have all week, and I feel a bit back on track. I've figured out my new exercise routine, which is important, and I'm happy to sleep in until the rest of the family gets up during the week, instead of getting up early to exercise. Really focusing on living the SWEET Life the past day or two has really helped everything fall nicely into place.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Tidying up Makes a Difference
Sleep
I think I slept 7 hr. last night. Zoe woke up at 2:45, but I got her quickly and we both drifted back to sleep easily.
Water
The weather has been really dry the past couple days, so I've been trying really hard to drink lots of water.
Eating
Nick cooked us a great breakfast: scrambled eggs with ham, cheese and bell peppers; 1/2 whole wheat bagel, coffee/milk (for the girls). Hmm, I guess we forgot to have fruit, but we usually do have fruit with breakfast. Trying to get all those food groups in! Had a tuna melt on whole wheat with an apple for lunch. . .
Exercise
Took a long walk with a friend this morning. We are running a 5k race tomorrow, so we took it easy today.
Tranquility
The girls napped well after a busy morning, so I had time to tidy up a bit, check email, blog, etc. I'm relaxed.
How do I feel?
I feel better when my house is tidy, which I've done the past couple days. I really should spend 15 min. every day tidying up, but it doesn't always happen. I'm looking forward to this weekend, which will be busy with fun plans, starting tonight.
I think I slept 7 hr. last night. Zoe woke up at 2:45, but I got her quickly and we both drifted back to sleep easily.
Water
The weather has been really dry the past couple days, so I've been trying really hard to drink lots of water.
Eating
Nick cooked us a great breakfast: scrambled eggs with ham, cheese and bell peppers; 1/2 whole wheat bagel, coffee/milk (for the girls). Hmm, I guess we forgot to have fruit, but we usually do have fruit with breakfast. Trying to get all those food groups in! Had a tuna melt on whole wheat with an apple for lunch. . .
Exercise
Took a long walk with a friend this morning. We are running a 5k race tomorrow, so we took it easy today.
Tranquility
The girls napped well after a busy morning, so I had time to tidy up a bit, check email, blog, etc. I'm relaxed.
How do I feel?
I feel better when my house is tidy, which I've done the past couple days. I really should spend 15 min. every day tidying up, but it doesn't always happen. I'm looking forward to this weekend, which will be busy with fun plans, starting tonight.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Post-Thanksgiving
Sleep
I love 4-day weekends! I've been sleeping well because I can sleep in, even if I'm awoken during the night.
Water
I don't think I drank enough water on Thanksgiving, but I've been trying to be more conscientious about it since.
Eating
On Thanksgiving day, I made sure to eat small, healthy meals throughout the day. For the big dinner, I did eat a lot, but I tried to just take a few bites-worth of each dish so that I didn't totally over-indulge. The day after, I made sure to eat small, healthy meals. However, today, I didn't eat very healthy: a burger for lunch, pizza for dinner; boy, were they good! But not very healthy. The other snacks and meals were healthy, at least.
Exercise
I ran for an hour the day after Thanksgiving to burn off some of the extra calories I'd consumed. Today, I did my morning toning exercises (because I'd skipped Thanksgiving morning), and my family went biking with some friends. Participating in a fun, family & friends activity is definitely a funner way to get exercise than just exercising for the sake of exercise.
Tranquility
Thanksgiving ran really smoothly because of all my advanced planning . I had a great day and was not a frazzled hostess. The past few days it's been great to hang out with friends and family.
How Do I Feel?
I feel that now that Thanksgiving is over, I can get back to focusing on other things in life. I don't usually think much about Christmas until after Thanksgiving, and now my family is asking me for Wish Lists, so I need to think about that. I look forward to getting back on track with other things in life.
I love 4-day weekends! I've been sleeping well because I can sleep in, even if I'm awoken during the night.
Water
I don't think I drank enough water on Thanksgiving, but I've been trying to be more conscientious about it since.
Eating
On Thanksgiving day, I made sure to eat small, healthy meals throughout the day. For the big dinner, I did eat a lot, but I tried to just take a few bites-worth of each dish so that I didn't totally over-indulge. The day after, I made sure to eat small, healthy meals. However, today, I didn't eat very healthy: a burger for lunch, pizza for dinner; boy, were they good! But not very healthy. The other snacks and meals were healthy, at least.
Exercise
I ran for an hour the day after Thanksgiving to burn off some of the extra calories I'd consumed. Today, I did my morning toning exercises (because I'd skipped Thanksgiving morning), and my family went biking with some friends. Participating in a fun, family & friends activity is definitely a funner way to get exercise than just exercising for the sake of exercise.
Tranquility
Thanksgiving ran really smoothly because of all my advanced planning . I had a great day and was not a frazzled hostess. The past few days it's been great to hang out with friends and family.
How Do I Feel?
I feel that now that Thanksgiving is over, I can get back to focusing on other things in life. I don't usually think much about Christmas until after Thanksgiving, and now my family is asking me for Wish Lists, so I need to think about that. I look forward to getting back on track with other things in life.
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