A Look Into Our Notebooks Week 45 of 2020

Every Monday morning I spend a few moments reflecting on the previous week. We make so many choices about how to spend our time and I believe that it’s important to seize the opportunity to examine those choices and how they serve us.

BLUE | Outside time
The weather was gorgeous after the first few days of the week – looking back, I wish we would have capitalized on that and gone for a few more walks. We only spent some outside on the weekend, which is what we’ve been doing for the last several weeks. It’s not enough and it’s probably time to really shake up the structure of our day to ensure that we get outside and play more often.

PURPLE | Blackberry Bluff School
It was our 10th week of Blackberry Bluff school and we mostly read aloud. That’s okay – my kids are learning to find comfort in books, which is a good lesson in itself. Also, I can use some of Thanksgiving week to help us get caught up – no big deal.

GREEN | Writing
My daily journaling streak is still alive: today is Day 218. Sadly, I didn’t spend as much time with my blog this week. Some of this is due to the fact that we’re still adjusting to the time change – my three children, despite going to bed later each night, are still waking up at the same time (around 5:30 or 6) instead of an hour later (I aim for 7), so I go into mommy mode earlier right now. But I’ve also allowed myself to do other things during my blogging time – on Thursday I read a book and on Saturday I listened to my audiobook and worked in the basement for a while. It’s okay to do other things, but I know it’s because I’m procrastinating… I’ve been working on the post for my 2021 Word of the Year and am having a hard time with it. So I’ve been doing what I do best: avoiding what’s hard! It also means that I haven’t been doing a good job responding to comments here and connecting with other bloggers in their own spaces. This week I’d like to get all caught up with comments and aim to publish my Word of the Year post next week.

PINK AND ORANGE | Reading (Pink = physical or Kindle books; Orange = audiobooks)
Reading has gone well this week. I’m still leaning on audiobooks to get me through this distractible period and that’s perfectly fine. Thank goodness for the ability to delay the delivery of library books through Libby – this has been quite a helpful improvement over the last several months. (And I’m looking forward to the publication of Barack Obama’s A Promised Land on the 17th… I’m saving this month’s audible credit for it!)

YELLOW | Stitching
I spent a lot of time cleaning up in the basement last week, so I haven’t made a ton of progress on my hexies quilt, which you’ll probably see on Wednesday. But if I want to create a space for sewing, then I have to put in the time – let’s hope this investment in time pays off in dividends.

I’ve also put some energy into my Scrappy Crossroads quilt – it’s in the quilting stage and will actually be finished quite soon. I cannot wait to get it trimmed up and the binding started – hand binding is my favorite part of quilting!

OTHER GOALS
I started tracking my water intake (the water drops at the bottom of each column). I know that most of my headaches, lethargy, and general sluggishness can be attributed to my coffee habit, so I’m working to replace a few cups with water.

I’ve done most of my meal prep for the month! I have 12 meals prepped and in the freezer, with just a few more to prepare and put away. I was hoping to have all of those done before November 1st and we’re 9 days into the month and I’m still chipping away at it – that’s okay. Every little bit helps. It also helps that the last few days of November and the beginning of December will be turkey day leftovers!

Here’s to a week full of happiness – I hope you’ve all had an opportunity to take a big sigh of relief about the election. I keep saying that I feel relieved, yet I still feel a ton of tension in my body because I’m nervous about what’s to come. I’m trying to let go of that tension, focus on what’s right in front of me, and look for the joy.

If you’ve recently written a post about your own notebook, please leave a link in the comments! I’d love to catch up with you!