Feeling good

I have been feeling very positive lately( although things doesn't seem to go well at work).

Here is why:
1. Like mentioned earlier, I have been using all the free time from not watching TV( yes Im continuing it, because I got used to it now... !!) to cook fresh breakfasts and lunches. It also helped put dinner on the table before 7:30pm. I have been consistently eating very healthy and so does my family. I pack atleast 3 fruits a day, whole grain breakfasts/Lunches, toasted unsalted nuts and lots of cooked vegetables. I could see my family is very energetic and enthusiastic. I know for sure, its because of the healthy food.

2. Surprise, I lost 8lbs!! Not because I wanted to. But it just happened. Weight loss has been on my list for SO LONG maybe for past 8 yrs. So, even this small weight loss got me all motivated and the scaled hasn't budged since 8lb mark. So, I decided working out is the only way to go. I know, God acts in mysterious ways. And Intentions do manifest. :-) My partner came to know about a fitness study at a local fitness club and that it needed volunteers. We jumped at the opportunity. It goes on for 21 days with 9 sessions with personal trainers. So far, I have done 2 such sessions with a trainer. But Im free to use the Gym during this study. So, I started out very slow. Now, I have decided to do cardio 3 times a week for 30 min and weights twice a week for 15 min. My husband is doing it along with me so we can motivate each other.

4. I have been punctual lately. :-) I show up to my workouts ON TIME. Sometimes, even 5 min earlier. Reach office at 9:00am. Which is truly amazing. My partner is loving it!! My bad habit of this has been bugging him for years now.. I still have a long way to go to perfect it. But, I see a lot of changes in my schedules which is encouraging!

3. Now regarding my early rising: I still don't wake up at exaclty at 5:00am. But, I think Im getting there. I have been waking up at 5:30am consistently for quite some time now. I also bought a good alarm clock. I know, its not advisable to have cellphones around during sleep. Im going to use the alarm clock instead. So, hopefully tomorrow?

Overall, my mood has been Happy, Positive and Enthusiastic!! ( there is a always a thought in my head that I couldn't get it out: "Why haven't I tried this sooner?" I always find myself reply: "Atleast Im trying it now.... "

Its been a GREAT month so far....What a way to end April, 2009. Life is truly beautiful. Not perfect...! But Hopeful and Beautiful!

"But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep."
-"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost

Early Rising.

I have been having very tight schedules lately and I couldn't continue my 5:00am monthly challenge. So, I have decided to start fresh again tomorrow.
But, I have been doing a lot better lately with my appointments. I finish all my morning routine before my kids rises. So, I get to spend more time with her. I have been consistently packing healthy lunches and snacks for my family and myself. (This may sound trivial but it is a HUGE deal for me.)
I will be keeping a close tab on this challenge and do everything possible to keep me going.

More soon...

Day 2, 3, 4 5 & 6 - Early Rising,

I had success for three consecutive days. I woke up sharp at 5:00am. But, Sunday Monday and Tuesday were a bit difficult. Once I fell of the wagon and it seems harder than before to get back on track.
Here are the problems I have:
1. I was too excited about waking up early and enjoying the quiet time, I end up waking too early 3:45-4:15am. Then when I force myself to get some sleep for about 1/2 hour, next thing I know its 6:30.
2. My daughter seems to wake up with me. So, I try to help her go back to sleep and I seem to have slept right along with her. Now, I let my partner sleep in between us, so I wouldn't wake her up. But, she seems to find her way to me. :-( Then I realized, she has a light cycle( as in disturbed sleep) around 3-5:00am. Any tiny sound (or light from cell phone) seems to wake her up. So, when my alarm goes off she wakes up. Last friday, she was fully awake when my second alarm went off at 5:30. I usually turn off the second one before it goes off. But this time I was too busy helping her go back to sleep, I forgot all about it. So, she got up along with me. :-( I ended up doing my morning routine, cooking/packing lunches & snacks/ dressing up with her on my side. Which means each task takes twice as long. My mornings turn out to be unproductive. Im still figuring ways out to avoid this situation.
3. For me, weekend doesn't have a routine yet. So, it screws up all my efforts. I managed to be on track on Saturday. But Sunday, I woke up at 7:00! Monday at 6:30 and today at 6:00. It is a gradual improvement but not enough!

Day 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 - No TV

Sorry, I went "missing" last weekend. Took off last weekend to enjoy the sun!! Finally, it feels like spring! :-)

Giving up TV for a month started out as a difficult one for me. But lately, I got used to not having it part of my routine. I have lots of time in hand. Helps me plan out my weekly and daily routine. I have SO MANY things to-do/improvise, time seem to be too SHORT. Sometimes its overwhelming. I keep telling myself, why haven't I started sooner? Im glad, I did it atleast now. So, here I am moving on the next challenge of "Becoming an Early Riser". It doesn't have the same success as that of "No TV" but Im getting there. First three days were on track. But, weekend seem to throw me off the track. So, Im still learning certain tricks to get in line.

Day 1 - Early rising.

Finally, after several failed tries..... I did it today. I woke up at 5:00am. Yes, really!! Bright and early. I didn't get off the bed until 5:30 though. My kid was up with me. So, I had to help her go back to sleep.
I was doing everything leisurely. But, I have a long way to go to savor the quiet time.
That means, packing lunches the night before. Having an empty kitchen sink and a clean counter to let me enjoy cooking. It takes discipline and focus. For some, its part of what they do. I admire them and I want to be like them. They do everyday chores at ease, like it is done by Habit. I learnt last night( was listening to David Allen's - Getting Things Done) that it takes 2 yrs to learn a habit. So, it'll take 2 yrs from today for early rising to become a habit and with it goes my "No TV", clean kitchen, organized closet: focused office work.. Everything! I didn't learn bad habit overnight. So, I don't expect any change overnight, although I would love to. But, I have to keep myself motivated throughout this PROCESS. How? I read as much as I can, listen to whoever has done this before, talk it with my partner who has seen it all :-) He is my pillar. He knows, Im trying. He seen me fail more than twice. He always encourages me to be better, 'for Im capable of doing it all'. Its his words *not* mine... . He believes in me more than I do. Im truly blessed and thankful in that respect!!

I have just taken the first step of the new monthly challenge: Waking up at 5. Apri 16 - May 16.
I believe that waking up early will open up doors like never before. So, here is to the new challenge...!!

Day 21 & 22 - No TV

Day 21 - I had a slip up and watched Biggest loser. I knew, I shouldn't watching, but I did. Didn't do cleanup after dinner either. Let just say, not exactly I intend the evening to end. :-(

Day 22 - Had a quite productive evening, just the way I wanted. Im very glad, I didn't let the previous slip get me.

Day 19 & 20

So far no TV. I haven't yet started the rising early routine yet.

Day - 18

Im beginning to comprehend the "Power of 30".
Last night, it never occurred to me to turn on the TV. Infact, I NEVER went into the family room to relax. I was catching up with my kid in the kitchen. Started right away with my dinner prep: Whole wheat pasta with beans, broccolli, mushroom, onion and garlic tomato sauce.
Had quiet family dinner. Best part is my kid LOVED it. Thank you dear, you made my day! :-)Washed the rest of the dishes. Packed the leftover dinner for lunch. I sent my kid off for a wash up and change into PJs. Soon, I followed to read couple of her favorite books. She drifted off to sleep in the middle of the 4th.
I sent few prayers heavenwards thanking for my amazing kid and my wonderful partner.

I had fun browsing internet ( drawing inspiration, planning and such sorts) until I was too sleepy to even open my eyes.

Life is good. Truly.

(Not-so)Day 1 - Early rising.

Alarm wasn't set. I didn't even change my day clothes.

All that thinking made me tired and soon fell asleep, I don't know when. :-(

Suddenly woke up with sun shining up high and with the fear of having over-slept: it was 7:00am. I barely had enough time for my morning routine.

So much for the "Early rising challenge". It went up in the air: poof**

Ok. Thursday is NOT good to start anything new. Here are my reasons/excuses: Its almost end of the week. Not to forget its a weekday.

So, I decided to push the start date to this saturday: Apr 11th - May 11th ( monday ).

I hope to survive this challenge... Believe me its been a LONG LONG time since I was a morning person.

Day 17 - No TV

Learnt about a sad news yesterday after reaching home from work. Didn't have the mind to cook and was truly tempted to turn on TV to tune it all out.
But seeing my kid smile, oblivious of the damage done, I could only get on with the routine and that is exactly what I did.

Luckily, I had some leftovers. I made them palatable by giving them some quick make up and a fresh look. Stuck to the basic routine of cleanups and bedtime ritual.

Tonight will be better....I promise

Time and Tide wait for None

Im terribly poor at "Time Management".
Believe me, I have missed.. not one, not two but THREE dental appoinments because I didn't manage my time properly. I booked an appointment as I had sensitive teeth. I keep giving excuses....as to why Im cancelling it. But, there is only ONE reason....yes.. I didn't manage my time. So, I cancelled them at the last moment.
Its always easy to cancel an appointment than to say "Im sorry, Im late.".
Last straw is receiving a letter from my dentist pointing out, that I have missed 3 appointments and 24 hour policy for cancelling appointments. It was truly embarassing. If I don't change now, I will take this habit to all my kid's important occassions. Worst fear is my kid would grow up with same terrible "Time Sense".
My partner keeps reminding me how I need to "plan" ahead to have some time sense. Its time for me to respect his words and his "Time Sense". Afterall, if I am late, he is late too... :-( Its like Im dragging my family down with me. :-(

I've decided to put my heart into it sincerely as Im wasting time & energy feeling guilty about not being "on-time".

Five things to get my Time management skills honed.

1. Wake up at 5:00am EVERY SINGLE DAY. Its the hardest part. But, its the ONLY way to have more time at hand and to keep me on right track.
2. Calculate how much time each task takes and have log for it.
3. List daily to-dos and prioritize the night before for each day.
4. Plan weekly menu and stick with it. Reserve impromptu meals for fridays and weekends.
5. Remember to Enjoy every single thing you do!

So, here is the second experiment for the next 30 days: Waking up at 5:00am each day.
There are many favorite blogs that I keep reading and re-reading to draw motivation.

I truly believe becoming an early riser would help me with "Time Management"

So here is my next challenge: Waking up at 5:00am for the next 30 days. ie until May 9th, 2009. Will be blogging more about this in the future posts.

Wish me Luck!

Day 16

The books I put on hold 3 mo back, were sent back to its original library. :-(
One was about body language, two of them were parenting books. Hurrriedly finished the other book I was reading, to get my hands these long awaited ones...so, I was a bit disappointed. Now, I may have to wait another month or so :-(

Last night was uneventful. Did some officework and some prep work for the next day. Slowly, Im getting the hang of it. Im truly glad to blog my experiences as it helps me stay on track.

Day 15

My brother and sis-in-law came over for a chat. It went on till 10:30pm. Its always nice to have them close by. Went to bed after that.

I have an interesting book waiting for me to pick up from the library. I put a hold on it almost 3 months ago. Hoping to get to read it tonight :-) and fold rest of the laundry that I did last night.

Its been two weeks now, since I started this challenge. It feels as though Im getting used it.

There are lot of changes happening around me:
Have more time to sleep at night, which is really great.
Closet is a bit more organized.
Kitchen counter is clean "almost" always.
Cooking fresh food, packing healthy lunches and snacks for my kid, my partner and myself. I also make sure, everyone empties it.
Eating healthy breakfast EVERY day which is very very rare.... :-(
We eat dinner together on weekdays by 7:30pm. Weekends we have almost all meals together as a family and on time.
Reading a lot of books from my list.
Spending more time with my kid.

Here are the things I would like to do/improve:
1. Offer prayers and prasad every day.
2. Be more "TIME" sensible; Be punctual.
3. Bring Excercise into the routine.
4. Create family breakfast routine even on weekdays.
5. Create fun activities for my kid.

Day 9,10,11,12,13 & 14

Last week has been crazy mainly bc, my kid was sick. Tending a sick kid, office work, cooking and household chores took up most of the time.
Day 13 - Watched a movie with my partner, which I don't regret doing.
Day 14 - Absolutely no TV.

Im hoping this week to be a more productive week.