Sing along to the Music

I just finished a book on tape (Sons and Lovers by DH Lawrence) and am between audio books so...I turned on I-pod on the way to work this morning!  It was a nice change of pace from the drive time newscasts (Wall Street Journal and local news).  I sang along-LOUD and PROUD!  It was fun and energizing. 
For some real fun, allow your children to load a favorite song of theirs on your tunes. 

Set a Goal

Goals must be measurable, achievable and time sensitive.  I think goals should also be written and shared with an accountability partner to assist you in reaching them.

Another cross country parent and I decided we'd run in the 3K parent race at the conclusion of our Home meet on September 10th, ONLY 4 weeks away!  Rebecca is a smoker and has not run before...but she has decided she wants to compete in that parent race.  4 weeks is not a lot of time to train...but we began with our goal of finishing the race in mind. 

First we decided that we'd meet during cross country practice 3 days a week.  We'd already been power walking on those days...so that wasn't hard to do.  We then decided that we'd each run at our own pace and distance until we established some initial time and distance baselines.  Then we added gradual incremental distances and minutes to our workout to assure we'd be able to run a 3K (1.8 miles) on September 10th.

August 4th I ran a 10:17 mile...OK-I am never going to win a race at that pace, but I was very pleased to post a 10:07 mile (on a flat course) in 100 degrees and a heat index of upper 90s.  I began running when I was 47 and my youngest was in the 2nd grade when she joined her cross country team (she is now an 8th grader so you do the math!).  I was a parent runner, keeping pace with the slower kids...Now 6 years later, I can't even see the kids in the slowest group...but still run/speed walk for exercise with my DH.  I decided to run a mile or two each practice and...viola!  Now I'm pumped and can't wait to get back our on the course to see if I can do it again.

One week later, August 11th,  I trimmed 43 seconds off that time and ran a 9:24 mile!  Rebecca ran her first mile ever at a blistering pace of 11:03.  Way to go Rebecca!  We're on our way. 

We plan on running 3 days a week and logging 3 miles by the week of September 5th. 
We'll keep you posted on our progress!  Join us?

REST

Exodus 10:  8-11
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.  For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Even God takes a day off from his busy week--so we are mandated to do the same!  Think of it...ONE day a week when you can chuck the to do list and put your feet up.  Plan your weeks so you can take some much needed down time on ONE day of the week (maybe it's not Sunday for you!).  Have food in the house so you don't have to go shopping, have the laundry done, the grass mowed and a good book on hand.  Take a nap, play a game, read--do SOMETHING, anything you enjoy!  Rest repairs the body, mind and spirit and we need to indulge in it more often!

And so in keeping with the spirit of this post, I've decided that I probably WON'T post on the weekends...so the name of this blog is misleading!    It should be 365 things to do this year, but not on the weekends! Or 365 things minus 52 times 2 equals 216.  Don't you feel more relaxed already???

CLEAR the CLUTTER

Join me in clearing away some of your stuff--it will create inner peace.
If it's in your bedroom, scientific studies prove you'll sleep better (and I'm all for that!)

OK, My desk isn't as bad as this but I am a stacker.  I stack stuff up, move it from one place to another and am generally content to be surrounded by my stuff.  So cleaning off the desk in the kitchen is drastic for me...I believe it will give me a greater sense of peace to have space free of clutter when I enter my home. 

The desk will still house the land line phone, a plant and the bill paying center along with the planning calendar...so it isn't an empty space...but no more stacks of papers and stuff to be put away. 
It will be a place where I can read my bible in the morning, pay a bill or sort coupons.

LAUGH

Take a step back and Laugh today.  Like deep breathing, laughter helps back your physical reaction to stress.  Keep a joke book in the glove compartment, re-tell yourself a funny story or just practice laughing in the car at the light!

Again, it's fast, free and good for you!

BREATHE

A new school year brings new challenges, routines and schedules.  Tomorrow will bring on the misplaced permission slips, lost homework and textbooks, lunches packed at the last minute and the run for the school bus...But today, today, it's still summer!

Every Mom needs a couple of tools in her bag to help reduce stress and here is one that doesn't cost anything or require any tools, time or privacy:  after all, if you are reading this... you're already breathing!

BREATHE DEEPLY:  Take 3 deep breaths (5 seconds in and 5 seconds out)
Practice this whenever needed for an immediate calming effect, it's guaranteed to slow your heart rate and and reduce the stress hormones flying through your system. 

Ready...begin!

Organize the Pantry

I don't know what got into me this weekend but I cleaned and organized my pantry.  You can do it too!
The result was even better organization of what I had on hand and I got rid of the stray goldfish and pretzels that DD had dropped. 

1)  I started at the bottom and worked my way up (but you might want to start at the top so you don't have to clean up the floor twice!)
2)  Arm yourself with a couple of shoe boxes (plastic is best, if you have it!) and some other containers to use to keep items organized (I used a Gatorade box and some freezer containers)

3)  The top shelf of my pantry houses appliances that are not used on a daily basis
The top shelf reserved for food (from left to right)
jars of pasta sauce (marinara and Alfredo)
cans of tomatoes, different sizes
Canned tomato sauces, tomato paste and pimentos
Canned soups used for cooking (Broths and cream soups)
Canned soups for eating, canned macaroni dishes the kids take for school lunches
Canned vegetables, beans, etc., including a jar of clam juice!
Then a box containing Kool-aid drink mixes, and misc stuff like taco seasonings--this kinda serves as a divider between canned and boxed items.
Next comes boxed rice and pasta mixes and pasta, grits and bulk rice and beans.

The next shelf is baking items, nuts, flour and sugar, baking chips, cake mixes and cereals and condiments (from left to right).

The lowest shelf holds snack items like popcorn, ice cream cones, chips and my stash of paper towels, and plastic bags.

The floor holds my lobster pot and my bulk purchases from Sam's, garbage bags, produce like potatoes and onions and extra (unopened) bags of chips and crackers.

4)  I made a list of any item I needed from the grocery store as I was cleaning and organizing.  Shelves were already lined with shelf paper, making it easier to wipe down. 

If this sounds like too much work, take heart.  I did it all in about 30 minutes--and I have a LOT of food in there!...But if your pantry requires more time than that, just do it one shelf at a time.  A well stocked pantry makes cooking dinner a snap and can save you BIG MONEY in the course of a year if you stock up on staples when they are on sale!