For the past few months I have a weekly list of things that I feel will improve my everyday life. Some weeks I accomplish these items and some weeks other things take precedent. I do not beat myself up if things go undone, because it is simply a guide and this particular guide is for my summer. It is an evolving list and most likely will change a little for August. This is how July went. (Well, this is how July went other than being the fastest month I have ever lived through. I am pretty sure the days and weeks have been compressed by geniis or elves or some other magical creatures and what the calendar declares to be a month is in reality only a week and a half.)
1. Either go to or rent a movie to watch by myself
Week 1. Fail1. Either go to or rent a movie to watch by myself
Week 2. Fail
Week 3. Fail
Week 4. Went to see Yesterday, but I did let TheHub go with me
2. Listen to a new to me album (Thanks to Discover Weekly on Spotify I should probably let you know how I pick each new album to listen to. Every week I get a new list of about 30 songs. Every Monday I randomly pick a number 1-30 than go to that song. They always have the album the single came from, so I click the link to the album and play it.)
Week 1: When I'm Gone Elizabeth CottenWeek 2: The Capitol Studio Sessions Jeff Goldblum and The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra
Week 3: Greatest Yiddish Hits The Barry Sisters (I have never ever listened to Yiddish album before and most likely never will again)
Week 4: The Ultimate Andrews Sisters The Andrews Sisters
3. Read a book
Week 1, This is Where It EndsWeek 2. Reincarnation Blues
Week 3: Love Letters to Dead People
Week 4: Fail (Was not in a reading mood this week)
4. FaceTime with Pip
Yes and No. We are mostly talking on the phone when she is en route to one of the many day camps she is attending this summer. Her school does not have day care during vacation and her time is more compressed. I look forward to the morning (for her, early afternoon for me) phone calls that being with a huge singsongy "Hel-lo".
5. Talk to each son and/or DIL
Done
6. Create something
Week 1. Made lemongrass bath salts Week 2. Fail
Week 3. Created a party celebrating Apollo 11 for my I.P. friends
Week 4. Have a project but am not motivated enough to finish it. Maybe the first week in August
7. Rearrange a room (Can be full furniture re-arranging or just changing a few things)
Week 1. Rearranged sleeping arrangements in the downstairs at the lake place
Week 2. Fail
Week 3. Fail
Week 4. Fail I am truly not interested in changing things right now.
Week 1. Rearranged sleeping arrangements in the downstairs at the lake place
Week 2. Fail
Week 3. Fail
Week 4. Fail I am truly not interested in changing things right now.
8. Get rid of one item each day
Mostly done except for the actual pickup. The truck will be here on Monday
9. Meet up with a friend for coffee or a meal
Week 1. NopeWeek 2. Nope
Week 3. Fail
Week 4. Met Millie for lunch
10. Have an ethnic meal
Week 1. Mexican restaurant mealWeek 2. Don't remember, so most likely no
Week 3. Chinese Meal from The Red Pearl
Week 4. Ate at Taco Bell (no judgement)
11. Use the "good" stuff (china, crystal, silverware) or eat on the deck casually
Nope
12. Listen to podcasts 3 times per week
Week 1. Spectacular Failures, The Frugal Workshop PodcastWeek 2. The Dropout
Week 3. Watch What Crappens (This is DIL 1's fault)
Week 4. The Frugal Workshop Podcast, Watch What Crappens
13. Spa Day (really means spa hour for some self indulgent "treatment")
Week 1. Mini manicure
Week 2. At home foot soak and pedicure
Week 3. Charcoal face mask
Week 4. Cleaned out a closet and found a never used facial steamer. Used it and it is very nice.
Week 1. Mini manicure
Week 2. At home foot soak and pedicure
Week 3. Charcoal face mask
Week 4. Cleaned out a closet and found a never used facial steamer. Used it and it is very nice.
14. Fingernail polish, wear it!.
Sometimes
Sometimes
15: Contact someone I have recently been out of touch with either by phone, email, or text
No
16: Have Mom up for a meal or visit
Week 1. She ate July 4th dinner with usWeek 2. We took Mom out with us to the fund raiser
Week 3. Big Fat Fail
Week 4. Fail
17: Try something different. The door is wide open on this one!
Failing! Not sure I even want to try anything different right now.
18. Watch a Ted Talk (I feel like I should share that these Ted topics randomly appear on my Youtube home screen. I have no idea what algorithms are used to change their suggestions but most of the time it seems to be completely random. I watch one a week anyway. Some are definitely more interesting than others and some I would never have attempted to watch if I did my own Ted searches. But I have heard some interesting, new and different ideas)
Week 1. Why You Should Read Hamlet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, TheTempest
Week 2. I grew up in the Westboro Baptist Church. Here's why I leftWeek 3. My Love letter to Cosplay
Week 4. Isolation is the Dream Killer, Not Your Attitude
19. Go for a nighttime swim
This was supposed to be a way for TheHub and I to relax after dinner. He is working late and we are eating later. He leaves for work every morning between 6 and 6:30 and gets home about 6:30 in the evening. By the time we eat it is usually around 7:45 or 8, then he heads to to den to catch an inning or 2 of a baseball game before he falls asleep in his chair. I guess I could go swimming without him, but I swim laps during the morning or afternoon nearly every day, so why?
20. Swim laps 5 times a week
Doing this pretty consistently Now on to August!
Wow, you did a lot of things last month. Way to go!
ReplyDeleteI would like to have done more since this list is mainly self indulgent, but life happens and sometimes I don't get to do what I want to do.
DeleteYou did pretty good, I'd say! I would have a really hard time eating that late every night, LOL. I'm like an old person, haha. By then I'd be way too tired to even feel like making dinner that late. I barely feel like getting it started at 4:30 when I'm done working for the day :/
ReplyDeleteWe rarely eat before dark and during the summer dark comes much later. I just do not like to start dinner during daylight hours. (Unless we are grilling and then all bets are off)
DeleteI am obviously stuck in a rut. Again. Still.
ReplyDeleteAs always your list challenges me, and some day I will get off my big backside.
One month I want to have at least 75 percent of the list done. Will require a lot of big backside moving on my part though.
DeleteYou had a really active July. I was in a bad rut and did just about nothing on my July list.
ReplyDeleteI had a different July and a lot of things I just had no interest in doing. I think the perfect August would be just to swim and read.
DeleteYou have more green than red, so I think you did very well! It's hard to accomplish things when we lack motivation to do them - when that happens, maybe it's time to rethink those categories and ask ourselves why we have them listed. You just might want to forget about them for awhile and add them back on if you feel you should.
ReplyDeleteI think I am going to rethink my list. There are a couple of things I want to add and a couple to subtract.
DeleteYou did well! We can't ever tackle the full list, or else we aimed too low. ;-) That's what I tell myself
ReplyDeleteFor some reason I have not wanted to read this week, which is really odd. Nothing specific interests me right now so I should probably go find a quick beach read. I am to old to fall for my self delusions though I still try them sometimes.
DeleteTaco Bell is good. Of course, I only like soft taco supreme. Maybe you could entice your husband into the pool if you start to undress. have you ever read The Sweet Potato Queen books? Start and read them in order if you do.
ReplyDeleteNot only have I read the books but I also have been to the parade and festivities in Jackson.
DeleteI think, knowing him and how well he knows me, if he saw me undress by the pool he would know something was seriously wrong with me and probably call the men with the little white restraining "coats"
No judgement from me on Taco Bell as we like it too. They have a good $1.00 breakfast menu that is good too. We love swimming laps int he pool, it's so good to stretch out all those muscles and keep limber. I always walk so much better after a good swim.
ReplyDeleteNow we are having storms every afternoon after hot hot mornings. I am going to have to adjust my swims to be morning swims. It does feel good but I love to swim.
DeleteI love your list and it's good to do things for ourselves. I'm trying to do more of that too. I may have to steal this list idea. And I love me some Taco Bell!!! lol
ReplyDeleteSteal with my blessings. I am just trying to make each day a little more enjoyable, even if it is a crappy day
DeleteI'd say you did well. I tried making a list of things to do (which I hadn't shared on my blog) and got some done. At least we're trying!
ReplyDeleteI find putting it out there keeps me a little more focused. Of course I also hear the words of Yoda echoing through my brain "Do or do not. There is no try."
Delete