Happiness Project! Be Healthy!

I know I know, about time!! 
                   

Well April is my "Be Healthy" month, and I am using the quote "everything in moderation" to help me through it.  I really want me, and my family, to be healthier as a whole.  We are trying to use greener, healthier products in our house, trying to be healthier with finances, healthier as a Christian, and of course - eat well and exercise.  Perfect timing for this, since the weather is becoming nicer and there a whole bunch of weddings coming up (one of which I am in, my brothers!) that I'd like to look nice for!

Everything in moderation is to help me stay motivating, not to give me the excuse to eat whatever I want, as long as its "in moderation'.  It is more for the exercising.  I really do love to exercise, but I'm so busy and so TIRED all the time (I know, exercising makes it better blah blah blah, but you don't know me...this body doesn't work that way!!!) that finding the motivation to work out above all the other stuff I do is hard.  Half the battle is getting my work out clothes and shoes on, and either getting out the door or on the treadmill!  So exercising in moderation looks like this: I need to walk for at least 10-15 minutes a day.  Ok - it doesn't sound like a lot, but a wise doctor told me to start out this way, and build from here.  If I tell myself I have to work out for a hour today....um, yeah, I'm not going to do that!  A whole hour?  When I have so much other stuff to do and I am so exhausted?  Not gonna happen!  But....10 or 15 minutes?  Anyone can spare that;) 

Anyways, for my Happiness Project, each month has a goal and there are about 8 resolutions to help reach that goal.  Here are my 8 resolutions for April: Be Healthy Month:

1. Exercise every day for 10-15 minutes.  Walk, run, yoga.  Just do it!  AM exercise preferred...
2. Choose fruit/veggies whenever possible.  W-H-E-N-E-V-E-R!
3. Drink water.  Lots of it!
4. Take Vitamin D.  I'm severely low all the time.  This does not help my inclined-to-be-tired body.
5. Every night before bed have quiet time.  It helps the stress of the day melt away before I sleep.
6. Get to bed every night by 11pm.  This is really, really hard.  But, I know it's ESSENTIAL for health.
7. Keep a food journal everyday.  I hear this works wonders!
8. Act as I want to feel! 

That last one is borrowed right from Gretchen herself (author of Happiness Project).  Act as I want to feel.  I want to have lots of energy, I want to be thinner and super healthy, so gosh darn it I'm going to act that way!  We will see if that helps;)

I'll let you know what works for me, and what doesn't.  I eat fairly healthy right now, we don't do a lot of fried or fast foods, but I could cut back on things...like putting mayo on sandwiches, or eating sugar without thinking about it, or choosing healthier snacks to put in my lunch, etc.  It's a long road, changing little habits here and there - but I'm sure it'll be worth it!  I just really want to be an all around "healthy" person.  But...I want to be able to eat a burger here and there w/o complaining about it and making everyone around me miserable because they are eating a burger, lol!  I loathe those who feel that they are "better" because they can say no over and over to a piece of cake?  Eat some cake darn it!  It won't kill you to eat it once a month at a birthday party!!  I don't want to be a skinny girl, just a healthy girl.  I think I can manage that.

Since it's already 10:18pm and I have to be in bed in 42 minutes, it's time to sign off!   Let me know what works for you in your quest to be healthy!  Is it easy?  Is it hard?  I'm all ears!

PS I'm halfway through Catching Fire, I'm once again obsessed with these Hunger Games books - but NO staying up all night for me this time, I'm being healthy;)

PPS I was at the DR today (as part of my launching this months goal) and when she asked about babies I said, "well, we don't really know - we go back and forth between saying we want them now, and wanting to wait a few years..."  Her reaction to this?  HAVE A BABY!!  She said we will never "be ready" so we should just have one now!  LOL - isn't that funny?  I've heard this before, but coming from a doctor - it feels like a perscription!  HA!

Happiness Project Reveal!

Why do I need a happiness project?!?  Who doesn't need one, is the question!!  I'm all about enjoying life and remembering the happy times.  Life is just a moment, right?  Why not spend it trying to enjoy every moment, being positive and happy?!?  Of course the bad times will come, money will be tight, cars will break down, people will get hurt and die...but if we do the work to be HAPPY, the bad times may be just a tidbit easier to get through when they come along...

It takes a while to start up a Happiness Project!!  I got the idea of Gretchen Rubin's book The Happiness Project where she spent a year learning how to be happy, appreciate life and love, etc.  She even blogs  about it!!  I loved the idea from the start.  I thought, "I need to do this!!!!".

Like I said in my earlier post on this book, it's not that I am not a happy person, I usually am very happy!!  But, I'm also anxious and grumpy and stressed out and stubborn and many many other things.  Sometimes, these things hurt my outlook on life, it makes me negative instead of seeing the positive.  Actually, sometimes I just ignore the positive and just want to be negative.  Not a good way to live!  I want to be a genuinely happy person, this means knowing what makes ME happy, ridding myself of needless regrets and guilts, and learning how to thoroughly ENJOY my life.  I hate how sometimes weeks will go by, I'll look back and think, "Where did that time go?  What have I been doing?"  I don't like walking through life with my eyes closed, I want to cherish and remember everyday, especially the GOOD in every  day!  There are many aspects in life that have an effect on our happiness.  I'm hoping to tackle most of the ones that effect me!

So, I am joining the masses on The Happiness Project in making my own "Resolution Chart".  Gretchen made one of these for her project, mine is done a little differently but if you read her book, you may see a lot of similarities.  Each month as a theme around which I am making my "resolutions" or goals.  These themes are specific to me, things that I know will help on my way to happiness!  In all of these, loving God is key, because honestly without Jesus, for me, there is no happiness!  I have a quote to go along with each month, something that will help me to remember those goals!  Here is what I have so far:

My 2011 Happiness Project
March: Be Organized: "Everything has a place" - March is almost over, but this month has been all about organizing!
April: Be Healthy: "Everything in moderation" - if I "give up" something, it's all I will want.  If I tell myself to exercise a hour every day, I won't!  Everything in moderation!
May: Enjoy Family: "Make memories"  My brother is getting married May 15th, perfect month to celebrate family and make wonderful memories!
June: Write a book: "Do a little everyday!" - by doing something every day, you get a lot done
July: Have fun: "It's fun to have fun but you have to know how!" - Dr Seuss, Cat in the Hat
August: Be a friend: "If you got a sandwich cut that thing in half.  Share it with a friend and have a laugh!" Jack Johnson meaning: spend more time with friends and have fun:)
September: Work hard: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart" - whatever I'll be doing then, I want to excel in it!  This is also motivation to PUBLISH the book I wrote in June
October: Enjoy home: "The most important work we do is within the four walls of our home" - enjoy home with family, enjoy home by cleaning and getting things done
November: Be Thankful: "Gratitude is the best attitude"
December: Relax and enjoy life: "Be anxious for nothing"

I'm still working on finalizing the resolutions and quotes for some months.  Each Month will have 8 goals to achieve, I have a chart (thanks to Gretchin Rubin herself!!) and each day I will put a check or an X if I did or did not achieve it. Some goals won't be accomplished everyday, and some will.  As long as I try to get each goal accomplished by the end of each month.

I'll be posting in the beginning of each month to list my goals for each theme!  But that's my Happiness Project for now!  Of course my reading challenge fits in here too, because reading makes me extremely happy!!  I love books:)

A quote I love from Eat, Pray, Love by E. Gilbert:
Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it. You must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it."

I'm linking up with a bowl full of lemons for Toni's "One project at a time" link party!!!

Writers block

I have no idea what to write about tonight!!!

I'm still working on Unbroken, I have A LOT to say about this book.  It's really good.  I didn't think I'd like it but I am learning a lot.  I am enthralled with what the men in the Air Force had to endure during WWII.  But, I'll write more on that later when I finish.

I'm not working on a whole lot right now?  I've been busy working and reading and being a wife (cooking, cleaning, etc).

I am thinking about my Happiness Project and have started a few things with that, but I haven't finalized it yet so I can't really post about that.

I'm thinking more and more everyday about writing a book.  I really want to do it.  I'd love to be a writer!!  I just have to figure out what to write about.  I enjoy reading books so much, I have so many ideas for books but I have to settle on one idea first and run with it.  I don't know, it's such a big commitment, writing a whole book!  Especially right now when I have a FT job that takes a lot out of me!  But, this long term sub school counselor job ends in May.  Hopefully I'll get a permanent position in the fall, but that means my summer is wide open right now.  I may take a month, like June, and write a whole book - like Gretchen did in The Happiness Project.  She took a month (November is apparently write-a-novel month - check out the site ) and wrote a whole book.  There is a book out there to help us to do this, its called

So I may invest in this book for April and read it.  I like the low-stress, high-velocity thing.  I also like the title, because I don't have a plot and it's telling me that's not a problem.  LOL.

I also want to write a series of kids books for counseling purposes.  As an elementary school counselor, I use books ALL the time to teach points - but I find sometimes that there are a lack of books for certain situations and certain age groups.  So I'm thinking about writing these books too. 

Lots to think about.  Will I be an author one day?  Who knows!?  I'm not sure I can write well.  It's all well and good here on the blog where I don't really know who is reading it and if it is even enjoyable, no real editing going on here either.  LOL. 

So we will see.  I'll get into some more interesting stuff this week.  I have a lot of books to read still and only 7 days now to do it!  Off to read.....

My rating system!!

I finally developed a fancy schmancy rating system for my book reviews!!!  Well, it's not too fancy.  Have a looksie:

This way, when I read a book and review it here on my blog I can put up 1-5 books and everyone will know what it means!!!   3 books or higher means you should probably read the book, if it sounds like it'll interest you (the 4s and 5s you can almost bet your bank account you will like!)  2 books is eh...I got through it and probably won't give it a second thought - but still, if my review describes a book you would be interested in, go for it.  As for 1 - well you can probably bet I won't even finish that book.  See what I say up there - why did I waste my time?  I hate wasting time! 

I do need to say that these are only my opinions.  I did not major in reading or writing, so I am in no way an expert.  I can only review based on what I think of each book - and how you read and review the same book will be very different!  That is why, even if I hate a book, I'll try to give you a brief description of it just in case you would like it!

Ok now I have to put this handy dandy "system" up on my blog somewhere so it's always visible. 

Hope everyone is having a good day!  I've started Unbroken and so far its good - not reeeeeally my type of book but it's too early to tell!

Stayed tuned for.....

• Happiness Project reveal
• Guest Room reveal
• Craft room update
• Ideas on how to display books
• Research on how books enhance our lives!