Monday, November 30, 2009

challenge #9 and #10: incomplete

There, I said it... incomplete.
That challenge was WAY more

than I could handle during

parent/teacher conferences
Thanksgiving out of town
end of season soccer madness/parties
hauling out the Christmas decorations
dog events
a new calling at church
school bake sales
class concerts and parties
visiting teaching
my dog's hysterectomy
and a 2 week bout with insomnia

I'm going to deal with my junk another week,
so how was it for you?

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

challenge #10 : keep organizing

Is it just me, or did life start to get really busy these last couple weeks?
I think part of it is the onset of the Holiday Season and the end of a school term for the kids.
Whatever the case, I was not been able to do all I wanted to do... so this week I will continue working on last week's challenge.
Tackling my own personal
junk yard


How is your organization coming along?

Monday, November 16, 2009

challenge #9: junk in my trunk

If you ever thought I was organizedthink again.It's really timeto untangle this.This week's challenge is to organize, de junk or clean out at least 3 areas
be they
closets, drawers, shelves or boxes.
You need to do this with me.

challenge #8: completed

Again, I found this challenge to be difficult-
but even more rewarding.
I will admit, I didn't do one of the 3 antidotes every single time-
But for the most part, I was pretty strict about making myself stick to the rule and lo and behold, it actually worked.
By the time I had to think of 3 great things about the person I'd just been critical of, I started to realize how much I admired him or her, and strangely I was led right into the other rule about thinking things through from their perspective and by then, I forgot why I was bothered in the first place. And even stranger, I was left with good feelings toward that person.
For me, this was a brilliant formula that I will hopefully stick to for the rest of my life.
Please share your experience with this challenge,
I want to hear from you.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Last night I was laying in bed thinking about this goal.
(see post below)
I figured out that I need to have a little more structure in order to be accountable and actually accomplish something here. There's a big difference between good intentions and good results...
see, I'm getting to know myself so well :)
This is what I came up with:
When I find myself being critical of someone I will do one or all of the following:
1. try to see the situation from their perspective.
2. name three things this person does well.
3. do something kind for this person this week.

Monday, November 9, 2009

challenge #8: Critical Thinking

I think we're all too critical of one another and ourselves.
Here's what I know about myself...
The worse I feel about myself, the more I tend to criticise others.
If I feel frustrated with ME, I project my frustration on others.
It's not fair.
Poor Capt. Butler and the kids often take a tongue lashing when I'm down and out on myself.
If I can replace critical thinking with positive thoughts AND service towards those I'm being critical of, I will feel better about myself while at the same time preventing a big slip in the negative
ditch.

This week I will work to swap the critical for the positive-
both in thought and deed.
Will you do this with me?

challenge #7 completed

So, did you become greener this week?
This will be an ongoing goal for me.
One other thing I did this week was I bought another garbage can for my kitchen that I use for a make shift recycling bin. I find that I am more apt to recycle if there is a container right in front of my face. Even though my bins have always been in the garage, sometimes I would get lazy and throw recyclable items in the trash. So, it has helped a lot to have a bin in the kitchen next to my trash can.
I would really love any ideas you have on this subject,
so feel free to leave your tips.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

baby stepping

So here is my slew of bags,
do I keep them in the car?
What do you do?

No more brown paper bags, everyone has their own re-usable lunch bag.
I know, I am so far behind... but at least I've started the process.I would LOVE to hear from you-
what are some ways you've become a little greener in your home?

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

challenge #7: greening me

This week I am GOING GREEN
Yes, I'll admit it.
I am an eh, so-so kind of environmentalist.
Like many things in my life, I have always WANTED to be better at doing my part to help the environment, but I continue to give a mediocre effort.
For example, I have wanted to switch over from using mountains of plastic bags at the grocery store to bringing my own reusable bags.
I wasted months just watching other people toting their re-usable bags in and out of stores, always thinking, "I should do that".
Now I will!
The last 2 weeks I have been collecting re-usable bags from various stores and finally, I'm on my way.
So, this week, I will find ways to go from goopy to green.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

day five, six and seven of challenge #6

Ok, Halloween threw me for a loop,
but I'm back on track now.

My last 3 gifts were:

made a dinner for my neighbor who just had a baby.
cleaned up a neighbor's smashed pumpkin.
took one of my kids for a special one on one date.

What a great week of giving.
Some gifts were better than others,
but all in all, it was great just to be serving.
I hope you had fun with this one too.
Please share your favorite gift.