I'm a marathoner

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Yep, even though I was 12 the last time I ran for more than 5 minutes in a row, I'm a marathoner. I even run three marathons at a time: weight loss, organisation and infertility. When I started those journeys, I expected them to be sprints. I expected to get pregnant like most of my friends, within months of trying. I expected I would get my house, my schedule and above all my bad habits under control in a snap. I expected I'd get rid of the extra weight after a couple weeks of exercising and eating right.

But all the journeys take more than just some weeks of effort, at least the journeys that are worth the trip. I'm hanging there, and even though some days are better than the other, I try to remind myself that what matters is the long run. I know that, despite the bumps along the road, the trip will be worth it. The rewards will be fabulous. And starting those journeys is half the victory, especially for weight loss and organisation. I'm doing much better on those two than if I'd never done anything, right? They are probably lifelong journeys, I will probably never be able to say "I'm done, I'm at my goal, I don't need to pay attention to this.", but it's okay.

Just like marathoners, I should be careful to keep a good rythm all along the run. If you sprint at times and walk at other, it's much harder and you feel much more tired. You lose your breath, you feel bad, you get in pain. Consistency is the key here. What makes the "infertility marathon" different is that you don't control your rythm, the fertility center and your body do. This is what makes it much harder: you can't control some things, while you can control other (like weight loss) I have to focus on those and let go of the rest which is not in my own hands.

Lent My Way weeks #1, #2 and #3

(check this post to find out more about this project)

On the first week we focused on our office, more specifically on DBF's desk. He had a terrible mess and most of it is gone. It feels great.

Look! Empty shelves!!

I'm always amazed how a little neatness and decluttering can have such a great impact on how you feel when you look at that space: it's so fresh, so light now! Bliss!
To make things even better I would have liked to take care of my desk and bookcase too, but unfortunately I didn't find / make time for that, so I will try to tackle this during this month.

I then started a new room: the bathroom. It's very very tiny and I was able to declutter it all during the weekend.

The after pic. It looks like there are still many things, I know, but it was
worse before and  much more disorganized, trust me!

I got rid of old products that I kept for some reason (don't ask me what this reason was!), checked the expiration dates of all our meds and prepared a bag to bring back to the drugstore, I prepared my vanity for the few trips that I make, etc.

Finally, last week I worked in the bedroom, especially our closet. Look at all the clothes I got rid of:

There were at least 15 or 20 pieces that didn't fit me and that I
packed to bring to a charity. Look at all those hangers!

Ain't it great? Those were too small for me since I gained so much weight over the last years. Even if I lose 30 lbs one day and CAN get back in those, will I really WANT to?? I don't think so! It was time for me to pass on those clothes to a charity so that someone that fits in them can enjoy them.

So far, it's been great. I have to fight my natural tendency to perfectionism and remind myself constantly that doing something is great already, and that all this mess didn't appear overnight and can't hence disappear all of a sudden. It's hard sometimes but it's getting easier and I've taken the habit to celebrate those victories, no matter how small they are.

This week, I am working on the kitchen. I especially decluttered my recipe books that I never ever use. I will also work on practicing my routines, I'm tired to have a big huge mess to take care of before the cleaning lady comes on Thursday, when it's so easy to do a little every day. Maintenance is the key to housework happiness, I tell you!

Weekend goals update

As promised, here's how went my various goals for the weekend:

• plan next week's menus and go grocery shopping DONE
• change cat litter NOT DONE
• pick up the house DONE, especially the kitchen 50% DONE
• do one or two (depending on how fast it dries) loads of laundry ONE DONE, it's not dry yet so I have no room to do a second one.
• finish to unpack (just a couple books left) DONE
• clean my desk DONE
• unclutter my unread RSS folder 10 out of 45 DONE, still some work left!
• pamper myself (I desperately need to wax my legs and give myself a good facial) NOT DONE: we ran out of fuel for our central heater, so the bathroom is way too cold for me to stay in there for more than a quick shower! LOL
• take pix for work if the weather gets better DONE

Except for the cold temperatures that stopped me from doing much (I feel like hibernating!), this weekend was pretty good. I had more troubles completing my resolutions, though, but it's all about progress, not perfection, so I will consider myself satisfied with how it went and keep working on the items I missed this time. On this note, I'm off to bed, see you soon!

First week in 2012

Well, this first week has been great so far. I truely enjoyed all the fun stuff going on at TDC around OLW and resolutions and PL (even though I'm not participating). Lots of inspiration. The new sister site, Tell Your Story Every Day got launched this week too. I'm really happy about all these new adventures! TDC is definitely my digi-home. I love SSD's new look, but the community there, even if it's sweet and all, is too big for my taste and poor memory. I don't know people that well (or don't remember much about them except for a couple girls) and hence don't feel as comfy as I does @TDC.

But the most exciting part of this week for me was how I kept my OLW in my thoughts all day long, acting on it, following my resolutions for January and (surprise!) enjoying them. My motivation is really high and I don't really see it go down any time soon. *knock on wood* I even created a page to help me remember, and it's already printed (letter size)! Yay!!

Check my gallery for credits.

 I also created a 4x6 monthly reminder:

Credits: Transformation by Dawn by Designs @ TDC, Basic Black Alpha by Melissa Bennett @ SSD, The Alpha Files and shadow actions by Krystal Hartley @ SSD, DJB Merry by Darcy Baldwin @ SSD

It really helped me feel focused on this OLW, and I love it. I also created an excel spreadsheet on my phone to hold myself accountable for my daily resolutions. I give myself a note from 0 to 10 for each of them every night and it gives me my average for the day and also how well it goes for each resolutions during the month. Silly as it is, this kind of geeky (or even nerdy) stats makes me happy! ;)

Since I'm focusing on my body this month, the rest is a bit out of control. I'm trying to relax and just maintain my basic routines, reminding myself that taking care of my house in a deeper way will come in its own time... but it's hard. Even the routines are neglected and my house, desk and digital world is too messy for my comfort level! So, this weekend I'll take some time to

• plan next week's menus and go grocery shopping
• change cat litter
• pick up the house, especially the kitchen
• do one or two (depending on how fast it dries) loads of laundry
• finish to unpack (just a couple books left)
• clean my desk
• unclutter my unread RSS folder
• pamper myself (I desperately need to wax my legs and give myself a good facial) NOT DONE: we ran out of fuel for our central heater, so the bathroom is way too cold for me to stay in there for more than a quick shower! LOL
• take pix for work if the weather gets better

All of that without forgetting my resolutions. Hope I'm not too ambitious! I'll let you know on Sunday night how that went. Until then, enjoy your weekend!

OLW for 2012, monthly themes and January resolutions

Every year, around the end of it, the digiscrapping world is buzzing about OLW. The "One Little Word" was created by Ali Edwards. It's an inspiration to help you, thoughout the year, focus on something important to you. Last year, I picked "Perspective", and though it was great for me I didn't work much on it besides a LO I created in January and that stayed up in my office all year long. This year, I want to act more on it and use it better.

My 2012 OLW is RESPECT. To make this OLW more concrete, I'll use Gretchen Rubin's Happiness Project as inspiration and have monthly "themes". These will help me set up little, concrete resolutions. I know that when I set up big goals for the year I set myself up for failure because they are too vague, too overwhelming and hence unattainable. One thing at a time is the key to success.

• January: Respect my body, treat it well, feed it properly, take care of it.
• February: Respect my man and our couple
• March: Respect myself, learn to love myself, qualities and flaws.
• April: Respect the ones I love and our relationships, take better care of them, show the love
• May: Respect people I work with and people I don't really know too
• June: Respect our home, keep it in order, declutter
• July: Respect our possessions and money, take better care of it, find process to do so peacefully
• August: Respect my passions, practice my hobbies, learn new things
• September: Respect my time
• October: Respect the earth and our environement
• November: Respect my values, live accordingly
• December: Respect our need for traditions, create new ones

As Gretchen Rubin did in her book (which I just read during the holidays and LOVED!!), I will start in January by working on "respect my body". First, because, since I will have a FET (frozen embryo transfer) during this month, I don't know if I'll be able to do it later in the year if it works. I expect to be afraid to exercise if I get a positive test. I'll probably be a slightly bit paranoid! LOL And second because respecting my body is the foundation of all the other resolutions I will take. It's not possible to work on improving things and yourself (which might be difficult at time!) if you're always tired, feeling bad, in discomfort, etc.

My resolutions for January are:

• exercise at least 10 minutes every day (walk, video workout, stretching)
• eat at least 2 portions of fruits and 1 of veggies daily
• get at least 7 hours of sleep every night
• eat mindfully and slowly, put down my fork between bites, don't do anything else while eating
• moisturize my body daily

I will create some visual reminders, both for my January resolutions and for my OLW. I'm so excited to get started on this project that I might even not wait until January 1st! LOL