I Can Improve #11

I got to sleep late last night (what’s unusual about that?) and so this morning I was a bit foggy, but needed to get daughter to her babysitting job.

Once I dropped her off, I took Sis some of the soup I made last night. If anyone can appreciate fresh, homemade goods, it’s her! I was disappointed to find that my beef had toughened up because I’d gotten interrupted in the cooking process. I cannot ever just let a client call go to voicemail, though. I am too aware of everything they’re dealing with and I don’t ever want to be the cause of additional stress.

Despite the short hours, I did manage to stay awake all day and work on various projects (yay!). No nap means I’ll go to bed as soon as I’ve completed the work I need to do tonight, and then I’ve got lunch plans tomorrow. Yay again! So, it’s been a great day overall, and I am looking forward to tomorrow. Hope you all had a wonderful Saturday, as well!

I Can Improve #11: I will train myself to be in bed by 10 and ready to sleep by 11. Training starts in a week!

I Can Improve #10

Today, I finally asked sis what the plan is with Little Man and the daycare. Turns out, he will be going full time (which I’d just told Mom earlier I thought would be the route they’d take), so I’ll only have him for the next week. I’m so excited for his growth & experience coming up. I’m a little sad I won’t be as big a part of it, though.

I didn’t get to stay home with my own daughter. I very much enjoyed being home with Little Man for the past year. It isn’t the same as doing it for my own child, but it is something I felt was important. I loved being able to bond with him in such an incredible way!

I Can Improve #10: Plan cooking sessions for SATURDAY, not Friday night! I’m exhausted from 5 hours of cooking!!

I Can Improve #9

MAN we had a crazy busy day today! It felt like every time I got something completed, something else was popping up with one of my clients. Plus little man was all over the place. We tried to go for a walk, but he fell down on the concrete almost immediately because he was looking down and not forward. He ran into my car, and fell back and bumped his head. 😦

Still, all in all a good day. And my time with him is getting short (everyday time, that is), so I’m enjoying his antics even more than usual. 🙂

I Can Improve #9: Look forward to the future, don’t try to hang onto the present! I’ve actually done a pretty good job looking at all the positives with this change. However, at random times a little sadness takes over.

I Can Improve #8

First day back to school for the kidlets, after an unexpected day off due to inclement weather yesterday. We enjoyed bundling up in blankets and hanging out for an extra day. 🙂

Today felt crazy busy all day. I made a curry for lunch (green curry, chicken, veggies – yum!), and little man was very insistent on the things he wanted to do all day. He’s going to be a mover and shaker, that’s for sure.  He’s so smart and determined!

I can Improve #8: I really need to experiment with making more meals I crave. My curry isn’t as good as the Thai Curry I get back at my fav place in Crestview, but it’s on par with the couple of places I’ve found locally that do green curry. And I love to cook. COOK MORE GOOD RECIPES! Quit falling back on your comfort zone cooking!

I can Improve #7

What a day! It was cold – FREEZING (to me). 6 degrees was the lowest I saw on the thermometer. -15 was the “Real Feel” for a time period. What the heck? I’m a Florida girl, and I’m not pleased. We didn’t get any snow, much to daughter’s disappointment.

I can Improve #7: Learn to love the cold. You want to live in Montana or Wyoming for a year!

I Can Improve #6

Daughter and I spent the day with little man today, since it was a teacher workday (and therefore sis was working, but daughter didn’t have school). I think he really enjoyed having her there, because he was full of squeals and laughter and chatter. It was adorable!

Oh, and there were mini snow flurries. Cute!

I Can Improve #6: I get so easily distracted! Daughter was there, I should have focused more on work instead of continuing to interact with the both of them all day.

I Can Improve #5

I keep running across these word images that piss me off. They describe a correlation between spanking and “suffering” from an “affliction” called “respect for others.” Yes, that’s an overuse of quotation marks, and for that I apologize. It’s still rankling my brain, apparently.

I won’t go into great detail, but I personally believe that spanking teaches a person to be afraid, unhappy, and scared of being themselves. It teaches a person to cower down to those in authority – not due to respect. It tears apart a person’s self esteem, and teaches them they’re worthless.

So I made a conscious decision to treat my child differently. She was spanked – a handful of times in her entire life. For serious things only. And it wasn’t to teach her respect for others. It was to show her that what she did was absolutely unacceptable in any way shape or form. And later, we would have a conversation about how I despise spanking, how it tears me apart, and how I was sorry to have been angry enough to spank – and how it could have been different.

I raised my child with love, thought, and understanding. I’m in no way perfect – I yell (I yell more than most, so don’t compare yourself to me – you have no idea how much I yell; it is a serious fault of mine). I am quick to lose my temper. I am selfish in many ways. But I taught my daughter to be a giver – by example. Not by speaking of doing so. I taught my child to respect others – by example and discipline. I taught my child that there would be consequences for every action. I was consistent, I was firm. And I was honest. When I made mistakes, I owned up to them. I didn’t break a single promise – if I couldn’t reasonably make it happen, it didn’t become a promise.

Spanking doesn’t teach respect. And respect is not a damn affliction.

The above image is MY version of the “discipline” and “respect.”

Respect is learned. And earned. It is not borne of fear and violence.

I Can Improve #5:
I will continue to teach myself to avoid yelling.

I Can Improve #4

An entire week without stress or worry and filled with relaxation!

I was asked if I am looking forward to being back in routine after the holiday break. My answer was no, because I enjoyed the time to read and relax. And that is true – I read an entire book in one day the other day. That’s amazing to me – it rarely happens!

I realized, though, I am looking forward to being back in routine – but I think I see it differently than others do. I enjoyed every moment of my holiday break. I enjoyed being lazy, of working on projects at home, of traveling, seeing family and a couple of friends, of having pajama days and tossed-together meals.

But I also enjoy my routine – it’s filled with my nephew, daughter, sister, and brother in law. It’s filled with the work I love to do. And it’s filled with communication with my friends and family afar. I did very little (for me) communicating via social media, and much has happened in my time away. I look forward to catching up and seeing all the wonderful things that have transpired in the last 3 weeks!

I Can Improve #4:
Find a way to balance the in-the-moment with the social media, because MY social media accounts are filled with personal friends and family, not just the friends I met online.

I Can Improve #3

Speaking of cards last night reminded me –

I bought Thank You cards, and I have full intention of sending them out this year. So I need to get on the ball. That will be my mission for this coming up week. I need to make sure the people I appreciate KNOW that I appreciate them. I try to be vocal with my appreciation, but sometimes a written words can feel like so much more!

I Can Improve #3:
Send thank you cards for Christmas gifts before January next year. Get them out before January 15th this year.

I Can Improve #2

I’m always full of good intention but more often than not find I psych myself out.

I surprised myself with sending out Christmas cards for the 2nd year in a row. As in I bought, filled out, stamped, addressed, and MAILED them. Many more years, I have gone so far as to stamp them, and they still didn’t get out. Everyone started sending out the beautiful photo cards, so I became filled with a strange fear that mine would be looked at as cheep or chintzy. Last year, I decided I just don’t care. I’ll send them out anyway – at least my family and friends will know I’m thinking of them. I have to spend $40 just on stamps to send cards to family. By the time I add in all my friends, it’s at least another $20. So folks will just have to understand that I cannot spend a significant amount on the cards themselves. The 2 boxes if cards picture are only half of what I sent out this year! Plus I sent out a few individually purchased cards, too. Think about all the love that was shared!

I Can Improve:
I need to keep my address book updated, and keep a list somewhere of folks I want to send cards to, because when you’re making out 50+ cards for family alone, sometimes your brain gets filled and you don’t remember to make them out to each of your friends as well!