Personal Monthly Challenge Update

I know, I know.. a few days late. Well, having challenged myself to drinking 6-8 c. of water per day this past month  has made me much more aware of how little I drink water! Some days I’m so thirsty and drinking that much is no problem. Other days, it’s been a real chore… or it wasn’t   accomplished. Yet, this was a worthwhile challenge. I usually have a bottle of water ready to drink on the counter now, and am definitely drinking more than I used to. I will continue with that, hoping to maintain my intake of this precious drink.
On another note..

Did you know that the sustained beat and march of a marching band crossing over a bridge can cause structural damage to the bridge? With that word picture, imagine praying without ceasing as having the power to break strongholds. That was the challenge given in a program I listened to lately. So..
For October, I’ve hummed and hawed, but have decided I will do the 30 day Prayer Challenge “Pray for 30 days and sustain the rhythm and unity of purpose even when it means you have to walk through a mess in front of you.”  Ideally, this is to be done in unity with at least one other person. And fasting at least once or twice, and keeping a journal of the experience is also recommended.
So, I’ve begun ‘beating the drum’.

PMC Update

August has just sped by! One day  it felt like summer, and now suddenly it feels like Fall is just around the corner, with cooler days and nights! I’m hoping for a warm September!
This past month, my Personal Monthly Challenge has been  intentionally focusing on the good in those around me. Everyone has qualities that are lovely, but sometimes it just takes a little effort to move the cobwebs of negativity aside to see them in all their glory! This past month, I wrote down names of people I know – some friends, some family – and brainstormed qualities about them that I admire and love.  Now I have this list and I realize it’s just the beginning of something I will do on a regular basis, adding names and qualities to it as I go along. You might want to try it, too!

This month I’m going to do something related to good health. I am planning to drink 6-8 c. of water per day. I purchased a new water bottle for the occasion, so I’m all set. It’s a matter of remembering.  I don’t look forward to visiting the ‘water closet’ more often, though, but hey, ya gotta do what ya gotta do!

Oh, bother!

How hard is it to think and say only positive things? Mighty difficult, actually. With this PMC, I'm so aware of what I'm saying, especially after the fact.

Yesterday (Day 1 of PMC), I barely had my eyes open and I blew it.

You see, each and every morning we wake up to DJ voices, commercials and (sixties) music of the  local AM radio. My husband is a radio technician, so he considers setting the music alarm to 'his' station the 'good employee' thing to do. He's very loyal to his radio stations, he is.

The first words that came out of my mouth were: "I hate that commercial so much". I can't say much more about it, though, because that would be negative talk, and I don't want to go there.

I guess I'll have to start getting up before the radio turns on in the morning... or I'll have to think of something encouraging to say about annoying radio ads (oops, there I go again!).

PMC Update

Well, folks, I actually accomplished my Personal Monthly Challenge for this past month, although I caught myself at times saying, “For 30 days, I’ll do such-and-such”..usually to do with eating or exercising, I’m afraid. But I caught myself in time. 
Onward and upward.. I’ve been debating with myself what to concentrate on this month.  Speaking encouragingly, rather than going to the ‘dark side of conversation’  would be a good idea. I mean, when could that be a bad idea?
“Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.” Prov. 16:24
So, with this as my key verse this month, and with my Lord’s help,  I shall choose to speak and think positively, and not intentionally say anything negative or hurtful to or about my husband, children, friends, and the community at large. I guess that’s admitting that I sometimes intentionally say negative or hurtful things. Yep, I do.
And who am I kidding? Without God’s help, this will be impossible for me to complete. But I’m not expecting perfection here. I only aspire to do better than I have been. And to be more aware of what I do say and think.  I have a feeling I’ll be doing some confession this month! I’m thinking 30 days is an awfully long time!

Oh Joy, my PMC is over!

A few days late, but who's counting? For the month of April, I challenged myself to reading ONLY fiction books, and for the most part, I accomplished it. Okay, there were a few times when I read excerpts out of nonfiction books, but I did not completely read even ONE. And it was tough. Some days I held the books, lovingly stroked them, and flipped through the pages. When  a highly anticipated Amazon parcel arrived in the mail , it was extremely difficult to set the books aside on the shelf and just stare at their spines for several weeks! I'm glad this month is over, and I can get back to the reading I love... nonfiction.

Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy a good novel on a regular basis, but it has to grab me or I will toss it aside quite easily. Talking to the Dead by Bonnie Grove (Canadian author!) was EXCELLENT! Intriguing storyline, great characters, a little humour, and contemporary issues -- my kind of book. I will be looking out for her next novel, for sure! Grace in Bender Springs by Venita Wright - another winner. She is a Christian author I've recently discovered. Love her writing!  I also read Not My Daughter by Barbara Delinsky. The premise of the book sounded really interesting, but I just wasn't sure that the true emotions of the characters were really captured in the story. Maybe too much dialogue? So, I tended to scan pages and skip parts. I also read The Martyr's Song by Ted Dekker. A short book but an inspirational read.  Currently I am reading Erin Healy's Never Let You Go. She has co-written several books with Ted Dekker. You'll have to wait for my BookSneeze review for info on that one.

Which brings me to my next PMC for May. It's been very busy for me this past week or so, being out of town for work, etc, and so this new month has gotten away on me. I have hummed and hawed about what my next challenge is going to be. I don't want to commit to one that I don't feel strongly about, and right now I have no desire to challenge myself in any way. So... today I decided my PMC this month is going to be... Be Challenge Free! I am not going to tell myself I must do ANYTHING for a set amount of time. Is that lame or what? I suppose I don't want to fail at this month's challenge.

It just feels right to give myself a break.

PMC Update

I know it's not quite the end of the month yet, but I decided it's time to 'come clean' on how I fared on my Personal Monthly Challenge for March. Confession is good for the soul, is it not?  In one word, I fared... dismally.

Exercising 30 min. every day for 30 days apparently is a huge undertaking for me. I flew out of the gates strong and confident that this could be accomplished. Then I was blindsided by the flu and a nasty cold. Well, things sort of fell apart after that. Realizing that my goal would not be accomplished- COULD not be accomplished- I  half-heartedly carried on. A day here and a day there.  I knew it would be a challenge.   I was hoping to draw  31 little stick-men-running on my  calendar this past month, but alas, there are more blank squares  than anything else. If I was my teacher, I'd give me a pretty low mark for effort, but a pretty high mark for goal setting.
So, am I going to give up completely and quit exercising regularly? Because I know the benefits of getting out and sweating, I have decided to set a more realistic goal in the physical fitness department. Every OTHER day. That is very doable. But that is not my official PMC for April...

My girlfriend has challenged me to fast from non-fiction books for an entire month. That may be easy for some of you who gravitate to novel reading. But, if you looked at my bookshelves, you would probably note that at least 75% of the books I own are non-fiction. There are probably a few reasons for that. I tend to borrow fiction, rather than buy.

 But aside from that, my genre of choice is non-fiction - the informative, the biographical, the educational. But I must agree that sometimes my  head feels  like it's going to explode, and it's time for something fluffy or at least entertaining. Not to say that I can't learn from fiction. After all, parables (stories)  were the tried and true method for Jesus to teach his followers.

So, I'm taking on this challenge beginning April 1st. I don't know what I'm going to do with all the books I have on hold at the library. When I get the email notifying me that my books are ready for pickup, what am I going to do?  Some I've waited weeks in the queue for! I guess this will test my resolve.

I am looking forward to enjoying some good fiction, though. I've already got some ideas from comments on other posts. It's only 4 weeks. I'm pretty sure I can do this.

The Spring Thing

I know, it’s not officially Spring, and there still is a chill in the air, but today it just felt like winter was really over.  Are you feeling it, too?

I don’t know why I wake up early and want to get up and on with my day on Saturdays, when every other day, I practically have to drag myself out of bed!
Today, to fulfill my daily 30 minutes of exercise goal, I cleaned up some flower  beds , raked, hauled  branches,  and pushed the wheelbarrow around the yard, tidying things up. Then I swept out the garage and cleaned the deck. It’s actually a bit too cool to sit out there today, but that didn’t stop me.  Knowing that we could very well have another dump of snow (I doubt it, though)  didn’t stop me either. Don’t you just love El Nino?
 
PMC update: 6 for 6! I believe this goal is going to be a bit of a challenge for me. It helps to be accountable, though.

PMC Update

Well, it's the end of another month, and for me that means another PMC (Personal Monthly Challenge). This past month I vowed to write for 20 minutes a day (besides blogging), and guess what? I remembered every single day...except one. I completely forgot one day! Not even a thought about it till it was way past midnight. But I'm quite pleased that I kept it up. Usually I ended up writing at bedtime, which isn't really a wise decision. I'm usually so exhausted by then, I just want to get under the covers, not sit up and WRITE!

But somehow I managed, and vowed each night to write earlier the next day. My vows apparently don't have much power...

So, am I going to continue journaling religiously? I hope to, but I probably won't beat myself up if I miss a day now and then. I may attempt to switch to morning pages once again. Twenty minutes is a good length of time, that I know.

So, I'm lacking a little in the self discipline arena, but I already knew that. But that's not going to stop me from beginning my March PMC. And it is going to be... exercise daily for at least 30 minutes.

Today I started off with a brisk 40 minute walk around my neighbourhood. It was sooo beautiful this morning. The fog was suspended in the air and the sun was breaking through, glimpses of blue sky greeting me. I so wished I had brought my camera. Next time I will!

I’m Somewhat Challenged

I didn’t actually make any New Year’s Resolutions January 1st, mainly because I really couldn’t think of any ONE major change I wanted to make in my life which I knew I had a good chance of sticking with for 12 months! Which brings me to this post.
After completing the ‘never the same main dish twice’ challenge, I’ve decided that I stand a much better chance of being successful in completing goals if they are presented in short installments…. say about 30 days? I mean, most of us can keep things up for one month, can’t we?  (That is, if we decide we really want to, and it’s not just pressure from outside of ourselves). Besides, after 30 days, I’ll know if my particular challenge is worth continuing. Or, who knows, it may have become a habit by then.  Wouldn’t that be peachy?
So, to keep me somewhat accountable (because we all know without accountability, there’s a much smaller chance of success), each month I will write about my next PMC (that’ s Personal Monthly Challenge) and let you know now and then how it’s going. And if you decide you want to join me for one of them, the more the merrier!!

A week or so ago, ideas were coming at me like tennis balls spitting out of a tennis ball launcher. No worries about ideas, I guess.
Only time will tell if I’m successful in  meeting this challenge.
Nothing ventured—nothing gained, as they say.
My PMC for February:  Journal  for at least 20 minutes every day.

Food

Ah…food! We are so blessed to live in a place where we can actually choose what to eat each day. 
This past month, I’ve been attempting to cook a variety of main dishes (never replicating the same recipe twice), and I guess I’ve done okay. I guess if you want to get picky about it, I did make pizza twice, but one was deep dish and the other wasn’t, so technically I’m okay, right?
I’ve learned that I actually ENJOY trying new dishes. I get really tired of the same ol’ same ol’. Yes, it takes a little more energy and planning to search my favorite food blogs, magazines, or cookbooks  for the recipe, but it’s worth it… IF the dish is well received.
I live in a somewhat picky- eater household for the most part. Actually, I’d say Jill and I are definitely the most adventurous. Others may eat anything I serve, but I can tell they way they chew their food, they aren’t always enjoying it. And still others like to  critique each dish that graces their presence. All done very carefully, mind you. After all, they know where their next meal is coming from!   No names, of course. Never.  Oh, I should add that some of the comments are positive. ;)   I do get “Mmmmm..mmm..good stuff, Mom!” now and then.. (music to the ears).
A few weeks ago, #1 son and I did the Big Cook together. Well, HE did the shopping, then came over, and WE cooked up 3 different meals, doubled… so that meant 6 dinners… and for a single guy, that’s 6 suppers plus at least 1 or 2 leftover meals. I kept one lasagne, and he took the rest home to throw into his freezer. It was a successful experience, and I’m sure we’ll do it again. 
A few more days and I will have  accomplished  my January  goal!

The Spice of Life

Variety is.

In keeping with that saying, and as I had posted in November, I am attempting to NEVER repeat the same recipe twice this month.  My rules are: I can use old stand-by’s OR try some new recipes, and of course, serve leftovers, but I won’t intentionally create the same main dish twice this month.
I used to be a Pizza-Fridays, Popcorn-and-Fruit-Salad- Sundays  kinda gal, but that was a long time ago, and I had little kids back then who thought popcorn for supper was SUH-WEET.  My tolerant husband didn’t even
dare to
  complain!  But that’s all changed. Now I’m dealing with bigger appetites and tastes are more demanding refined.  As well,  for some strange reason,  the food blogs I’ve been reading have really inspired me to expand my horizons.
We shall see how long this inspiration lasts. If not, will perseverance  kick in thereafter to keep it going for one entire month? 
Check my sidebar if you want to see how I’m doing.