A Look Into Our Notebooks | Week 7 of 2021

Happy Monday, friends! I begin each week reflecting on the one that just ended – how did I use my time? Did it line up with my goals and values? Was I able to recenter myself when I inevitably veered off course throughout the day? All of our little decisions add up to our lives – how am I living mine? Last week was a restful and relaxing one; my husband was on vacation and we took the week off from homeschooling, so it was nice to let the kiddos run wild and free and spend time on things that were just for me. It was also my birthday week, which made the whole thing much more indulgent!

GREEN | Writing Time
This morning marked day 323 of my journal writing streak. I’m inching closer to 365 – one day at a time. And I managed to work on my blog at least a half hour a day, despite feeling like I don’t have much to show for it. But that’s how writing goes sometimes, right?

ORANGE | “Healthy” Stuff
I’ve continued to meditate for 5 minutes every morning – today marked day 58, according to my Insight Timer app. I did 4 sessions of Yoga with Adriene throughout the week, which always feels amazing. I did not get on the exercise bike this week – for some reason I was perplexed about how to fit it in, despite being quite successful figuring it out the last several weeks. I think my motivation is lagging because I’m craving walks in the springtime and not sweat sessions staring at a wall in the basement. This week I’m going to remind myself: 1) I can listen to an audiobook while I’m exercising; 2) It feels really, really good to close the exercise ring on my apple watch before 6am; 3) The endorphin rush is real; and 4) I’d like to live for quite a while and taking care of my body is a key factor in that equation. Let’s hope I can get back on track. My goal this week is 3 sessions on the bike.

PINK | Reading Time
My reading mojo stayed with me last week. I had headphones and an audiobook on while vacuuming, mopping, washing the dishes, cleaning the bathrooms, folding the laundry, and sewing. I had a book in my hands at almost every other point, hoping to steal a few minutes to read a page or two. The reading life is a good life, my friends!

YELLOW | Stitching Time
I spent a nice chunk of time working on my Stay at Home Round Robin quilt on Wednesday night and then throughout the day on Thursday, but that’s about it. I didn’t finish Round 5 in time for the linkup and the last round is going to be announced today. I’m hoping it’s fairly straight forward and I can finish both rounds this week. We’ll see!

BLUE | Outside Time
I’m not sure how I didn’t find more motivation to play outside this week? I hope to do better as we ease back into our schooling routine. I often get bored in the yard in the winter – the kids happily play in the snow and sometimes I join them, but often they want to play on their own within their imaginations, which I totally understand. Because of all of the snow, there’s no place for me to sit and either read or knit while supervising them, plus I’m usually wearing gloves which would make both a bit more challenging. But I went to Agway on Saturday and bought a ton of seed packets for flowers and we’ve finally put in all of our vegetable seed orders, so I can look forward to plotting our garden spaces while they’re playing. Having a plan for my outside time keeps me motivated!

OTHER TRACKING
+ Water – better than last week, that’s for sure! Water is going to be a major “health” focus for me this week. Back to the basics!

+ Weather – continues to be rather mild, especially when I compare it to the temperatures I’ve recorded in my 5 Year Journal. But the wind is killer! This is such a fun thing to track over time.

+ Covid Cases – I wouldn’t say that this is a “fun” thing to track, but it’s a relief to watch the numbers tick down over time. I’m also recording these numbers in my 5 year journal and it’s going to be an important memory in the future — especially when looking back at those days in early January when tiny New Hampshire was tallying 1,000 cases/day. What a time we’re living through!

---

I’m anxious to get this week started – the first one back from a homeschooling break is usually… interesting. Please send me all of your spare patience! I hope to be back tomorrow with an update on my word of the year – see you then!