Today is my perfect family day. I need to make a point to make more Sundays just like this one. The day started off quiet. I woke up before everyone in the house and was able to sneak in some quality time with my book. When the house finally woke up, Cole searched for eggs and his Easter baskets. I constantly struggle with the Easter basket. Cole doesn’t eat a lot of junk food, so I don’t like to fill his basket with it even though it is an Easter tradition. This year his basket was filled with Gummy Bunnies and Chocolate Eggs from Trader Joe’s along with some Pokemon cards, a new DS game, and an itunes gift card. I filled the eggs with a few treats and lots of quarters, dimes, and nickles. Cole loved it.
After our Easter celebration, we ran a few errands – garden center, trader joe’s, blue ridge mountain sports, and Taylor’s Do It Center. Plants! Groceries for the week! My reward hammock! and a new grill! FINALLY!
We ended the night with an amazing dinner – grilled mahi, asparagus, quinoa with veggies, and corn on the cob – and cornhole with Christian’s parents (Mom and Dad – you are coming next time!). There is something magical about a good grilled dinner followed by family time outside. It is so simple. There is no fuss involved. Everyone is together. Everyone is laughing. These simple moments tend to disappear with the normal hustle and bustle of daily life. I’m bringing them back to our normal daily routine – simple, healthy, yummy dinners followed by fun time in our backyard.
Alex enjoying a belly rub and a bone
Stay tuned – we will be inviting everyone over to share these magical family moments with us. They are too good not to share. Happy Easter. I hope it was just as magical for your family.
Who gets to start fresh every 40 days? I do! I absolutely love this idea! Thank you to JT at Smile with your Heart for the awesome idea! I’m completely committed to them! Today is day 1 for me. I’m using this set of goals to building off of the last set. They are all about creating a better, healthier me. I really wanted to set goals a bit “bigger” this time, but I’ve decided it’s not right for me right now. Right now I really need to focus on getting my body healthy, letting my bone heal, and strengthening my entire body!
Set #2 (April 23 – June 2)
1. Trader Joe’s Sundays – grocery shop for the week and plan ahead (Last Sunday I went to Trader Joe’s at 8am. It was empty and I had a blast shopping. I sent $122 and got more than enough food for us for the entire week – breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks!)
2. Create Vision Board
3. Post life goals – 1 year, 5 year, 10 year
4. Follow training plan & listen to my body
5. Eat dinner Solo – no laptop, no magazines, no books (Thanks Sara!)
6. Take Cole on his 1st backcountry backpacking trip
7. SWIM! Take a lesson to learn real technique, take a aquatics class, jump in and swim a lap! I don’t care what it is, but I’m making myself get in the pool!
8. Learn to change a flat tire on my road bike
9. Start composting in our backyard
10. Make/Buy a rain barrel
11. Find a yoga studio I want to join.
12. Paint 1 room in our house.
13. Get Cole to a kid’s yoga class
14. Visit Sara and Shawn in Richmond
15. Per Kerrie’s request – start brainstorming bigger ideas
YES! I loved seeing this pop up on my computer screen this morning!
Today is the last day of my first 40 day goal cycle! Time to evaluate and take inventory of what I have accomplished and what still needs improvement.
40 day goals – Set #1 (March 14th – April 22nd)
1. Yoga – 6 times a week – Check! One week even had 8!
2. No Running – Check! Today marks 8 weeks of no running!
3. Say “Yes” More – Check!
4. Sleep in our tent at least once. – Not yet! but spring is here and it will happen more often! It is definitely on my brain.
5. Celebrate Marathon Training Victories – Check!
6. No computer after work (this one might need modification since I’ve started this blog – the purpose was to eliminate time wasted doing pointless stuff online) – Check! I have eliminated the habit of wasting time on my laptop!
7. Clean Kitchen before going to Bed – averaged 5 times a week. Not bad considered the messy kitchen was a constant headache every morning!
8. Bike – 3 times a week (starting 3/20) – Once a week, at best! I need to work on this one!
9. Love my job for what it is. Do not focus on what it isn’t. – Most days! 🙂
10. Look for a new job – 4 times a week – Check!
11. Daily Vitamin – averaged 5 times a week! before goal setting, i averaged about 5 times a month! big improvement for me!
12. Eat dinner at the table 5 times a week. – averaged about 4 times a week
13. Cook at home – 5 times a week – Check!
14. Catch-up with a friend (in-person) once a week – Check! Managed to make this happen an average of twice a week!
Reward – Blissology Hammock (will be ordered next week! WOOHOO! just in time for summer!)
You will be mine! YAY!
Going into my first set of goals, I knew there were a lot of daily habits I wanted to change about my lifestyle and my family’s lifestyle. The big one – After work and dinner time rituals. We were stuck in the habit of eating around the coffee table while watching Wheel of Fortune. This is not what I want for our nightly routine. I love eating at the dinner table. I love our version of “family cheers”. Mission accomplished – we are back on track. We are cooking more and eating at the dinner table.
The other big hurdle I needed to get over at the beginning of this goal cycle was accepting the fact that my body wasn’t ready for a full marathon. I also had to accept the fact that I couldn’t run for a while. I’m not one to sit around and pout so I embraced the role of cheerleader. Christian and I headed out to the race and cheered on every marathon runner. (Have I mentioned how supportive and awesome my husband can be….he is always up for a challenge and willing to go along for a ride. He cheered with me for 4+ hours because I didn’t want to leave anyone on the course without someone cheering for them.) Although I wasn’t running, I was so motivated and inspired by every runner on the course. It truly is amazing to watch each runner pass. They each have their own story, their own motivations, their own obstacles in life…but they are out there on that day running 26.2 miles! Incredible! I know how hard and time-consuming the training process is, and I know the sacrifices they make to be out there running. I would have hugged everyone who ran by if I could! I didn’t run 26.2 miles that day, but I think I’ve learned a huge life lesson in the process – listen to your body. Take care of your body. It tells you what it needs. I’ve also gained a new love in my life because of the injury. Yoga! How I lived without it before is beyond me! My body craves it daily.
Cheering on my dear friend Sara during her first post-baby Marathon (4 months post baby - AMAZING!)Such an Inspiration!!!! Go Sara!
Set #2 of my 40 day goals starts tomorrow. With this set of goals, I really want to push myself. I want to challenge myself to get even more out of my comfort zone. If it sounds crazy, if it is something I’d love to do but don’t think it will work out, there is a good chance you will find it on my next list of goals.
I would really love to have anyone join me in my next set of goals – start small like I did. There was a lot of fine tuning I needed to do in my daily living to get myself on track to being a better healthier me. I started small. I wanted to start out with success so I set out to change all those things I said I wanted to do more and that I needed to do better. And make sure your reward yourself – you deserve it!
This might be calling my name!
40 day goals – Set #2 will be posted tomorrow or possibly Sunday. We have a long day in the car tomorrow. We are driving to the mountains of North Caroline to pick up Cole (half way from Virginia Beach to Nashville). Being that close to great hiking and outdoor activities might make it hard to not spend the night and enjoy the great outdoors. We are going to play it by ear (A task that is incredibly difficult for me! I am a planner – to the extreme)!
Enjoy the Sunshine this weekend! Breathe it in and set some goals for yourself. I’m really looking forward to grabbing my journal and scribbling out my next set of goals!
It is so easy to go through our daily lives absorbed by everything we have going on in our head and what is around us. In addition to juggling my own life, I am also a wife to Christian and a mom to Cole. I think anyone who has important relationships in their life whether they are a spouse, a parent, a best friend, a sibling, etc. knows the stress you can feel by trying to do things and be there for the people you love. I could easily fill my day with things I need/want to do for myself – and sometimes I do. Most days, I’m attempting to balance my own sanity with Christian’s schedule and Cole’s schedule.
Time is such a valuable thing. It’s an amazing thing to offer someone. Appreciate the gift someone gives you. When talking to people, really listen. Turn off the TV. Walk away from your computer. And listen. This is something that I know I struggle with on a daily basis. It is almost impossible to have a focused phone conversation with someone after I get home from work. I can guarantee that I will be distracted by Christian, Cole, the dog, homework, dinner prep, etc. To avoid these distractions, I tend to do most of my phone talking in the car (gasp! I know, maybe not the best choice – I’m working on it! But I promise you I don’t text while driving!). I also added the goal of catching up with a friend in person once a week to my 40 day goal challenge. I much rather sit down and catch up with a friend in person once a week than talk on the phone half listening 7 days a week.
Dont let this be your next conversation!
I’m sure we have all been on both sides of a conversation when someone isn’t actively listening. There is nothing more frustrating than having to repeat yourself over and over again – or finding yourself repeating details from a conversation you had two days ago that were forgotten. Or even worse, hearing a long pause of silence with a completely inappropriate filler response. I also find it frustrating when I can’t fully engage in the conversation. Not only am I wasting the person’s time who I’m talking to, I’m wasting my time. Going forward, I’m making a point to make all my conversations meaningful. Yes! Catching up on weekend stories and favorite TV shows can be meaningful if both people are listening and sharing. It’s about interacting with people, connecting with people, and sharing the gift of time.
Take notice of the people around you! Pay attention to what is important to them! Better yet, make them notice what is important to you!
One of the main reasons I started this blog is because I’m always apologizing for or insecurely giggling about all the things that are important to me. Why do I apologize for things that benefit me and my family? When I first started my 40 day goals, I slowly started telling people about it by saying, “I know it’s crazy and I don’t expect much from it, but I’ve come up with 40 day goals to challenge myself” followed by some insecure laughter. It is not crazy! I do expect a lot! I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t think it would benefit my life. I still find myself having the same dialogue about my blog. I tell people I’m bored at work and need something to do or I just wanted another hobby. Wrong again! I need to quit apologizing for who I am and stand up for me. I’m writing this blog because it holds me accountable. I’m writing because I truly enjoy it. It makes me think. It makes me evaluate my daily life. It motivates me to try new things. I’m also writing because I hope it will help inspire other people to stand up for themselves or motivate them to try something new.
I’m done apologizing for being me. I love who I am. I love what I choose to do for myself. I do not need to validate my life process through the opinion of those around me. Those who love me will take notice, and they will listen to my stories about challenging myself. Some of them may even join me in the process.
My 2nd 40-day Goal Challenge starts on Saturday! Join me in the process! More details to come this weekend….
Happy Birthday to my very wonderful Aunt Amy! She is 21 all over again – funny how that happens!
Sometimes people stumble into your life exactly when you need them. I didn’t grow up knowing my aunt. Technically speaking, she is my half-aunt. She is my dad’s younger half-sister (same dad, different mama). After their dad passed away, my dad lost contact with both of his sisters. One day when I was 19, we were visiting family in Wisconsin. My dad asked me to get him the phone book from inside so he could look up old childhood friends. When my dad couldn’t find any last names he recognized, he realized that I had handed him the Milwaukee phonebook. He then decided to look up his Dad’s “other” family that lived in Wisconsin – and he found them! Amy’s mom Marilyn still lived in the same house. My dad immediately called them, Amy drove over from Madison, Wisconsin, and my dad and I meet them for the lunch the following day.
Lunch with their family was/is one of my biggest ah-ha moments in life. I have always been the “middle child” or the “black sheep” of my family (for lack of a better description). When I meet Amy, I fit! At 19, it was HUGE for me to finally realize that I am a part of this family of mine. I might be less like the family I grew up with, but the Larson blood flows with full force through my blood. I finally made sense. I finally got it. I was finally okay being me.
Amy and I have definitely shared laughs and tears over the years. Moon Shine Parties to boys peeing on themselves to Paolo Nutini concerts to falling off of bar stools!…..Thank you Amy for helping me find my place in this crazy adult world. Happy Birthday to you!
Now that you are back in the states, it is time to take some new pictures! Love you Amy!!! xoxo
Kristy Maute 