Da Da DA!!!! What's up, May!!??!?

So I'm ready for the May flowers. April was a fantastic month with two pretty good resolutions, if I do say so myself. So what's up in May? I'm glad you asked and I apologize for the delay in getting this blog post written.

Remember the deal...Feel free to join in. Do one, do two, do none. Comment away (please ;-) )

Resolution 1: Make my bed every day. Who doesn't feel great about getting into a made bed at the end of a long day? Something about it feels homey and settling. So each morning (including weekends) I'm going to be pulling the sheets up and fluffing my pillow. Hopefully this will help me get my room in order and keep it that way.

Resolution 2: Oprah's gotten to me. As well as fear that the law of Tennessee will get me. (Oh, and death or a car accident.) This month, I will not be talking on the phone without a hands-free device and will not be texting in my car. I know I could probably get away with texting at stop lights. But really, it makes me way less observant. It's unsafe and frankly, I shouldn't be doing it in the car when I'm behind the wheel. I can already see this one is going to be tested as I drive to Mississippi next weekend for Mother's Day. Ok, that's a week away. I can do this.

Are you in?

A Reflection of April

Hey everybody. I hope your April was great and hopefully you had some sort of resolution you made and followed through with. I was 100% for the silent morning commute. It might be something I keep up. It felt good to have quiet and time to think and reflect on the Lord. If you didn't try it, I'd say this was the one resolution so far that has been the most life changing.

My nails are thriving. I'm not sure why but there are some nails that just don't grow like the others. I had some moments of temptation where I got a little nervous or bored and just about took out one of those suckers but alas, I didn't.

So how'd you do?

April, You're Here Too Soon

If you're like me, the month of March flew by. I can count on two fingers the amount of times I blogged during the month. I've got lots of excuses, only a few being good. No need to dwell on those. Let's move on to April's resolutions!!!!

Again, let's review the 12 Months of Resolutions guidelines:

1. You can choose to do one, two or none of the resolutions. If you are in, just comment to this post and let me know.

2. You can make up your own rules to your resolutions. If you want to tweak it, go right ahead.

3. Have fun. And if you mess up, it's okay. I've not made it through a whole month.

So Resolutions of the month of Avril (French for April, booya!)

Resolution 1: I am going to keep my radio, ipod, etc off on my commute to work every morning. I need some quiet time and this may be my only real chance to get it without distractions of TV and the internet. What will I do with said time? I'm going to take it to be quiet and to hear what the Lord may have to say to me. I thought about doing both my commute to work and from work but decided against it. What will you do with your quiet time?

Resolution 2: I will stop biting, tearing, peeling my nails. It's an old habit from back in the day. And frankly, it's gross. So I'm stopping.

Are you in? Let me know!

March into Spring

It's that time again! Can you believe February is over already?

So here are March's resolutions:
1. Pay only in cash. Now for me, I'm going to still pay rent and those bills that are automatically deducted as I normally do. However, those everyday purchases are going to be paid for in cold, hard cash (or in change.)

2. I am going to read two books during the next 31 days. I oftentimes decide it would be easier to watch TV than to read. Not this month. Booky-wooks will be my friend. The books I'm going to be reading are Die Trying by Lee Child (disclaimer...My buddy Tom let me borrow this book about four months ago but I haven't given it the time) and Travelling Mercies by Anne LaMott.

Are you in? Maybe one of these tickles your fancy? Maybe both? Neither? Let me know!!!


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Water's my friend in Two-Thousand Ten

Photos everyday? Who needs 'em? I have failed miserably at taking a photo of something meaningful every day. There...I admitted it. How have you done? Any success? Has it taught you anything?

I have been drinking water like a champ. I have gone two weeks without a sip of anything but H2O. It's been pretty awesome and I can report I've had no headaches.

How have February's resolutions been treating you?

8 Crazy Nights

So I've done the water thing for about 8 days (save one half glass of Diet Coke during the Super Bowl.) Let me say that this headache sufferer has not had a headache in the past week except for one when I hadn't eaten for a while. I find myself drinking way more water than before. I fill my Camelbak up 3 or 4 times a day. I also find myself eating less. So maybe there will be way more benefits than I realized.

The photos of something meaningful have been way harder to come by. The idea behind this resolution was to take time to see the things around us that are meaningful. Unfortunately, I let most of the day get away from me before I remember to take a picture. So if you follow That's What She Said you've seen the photos I've taken. Enjoy.

Drink Up!

How's the water going? I've found it easier than I thought and I also find myself drinking way more water. I also noticed that I don't eat as much. This could be good all the way around.

I've posted 4 days of photos on That's What She Said. If I am being honest, this has been a hard one. I often times forget to take the pictures. But I think if I keep at it, I'll be good.

How about you? Tell us about it!

So how's it going?

Day 1 is down. I posted my photo of something meaningful on That's What She Said. I was so tempted to drink a glass of apple juice this morning because I bought some last week at Trader Joe's forgetting that this week is February. So there's that. But I am water only so far. I'm pretty sure that I'm going to crave a carbonated beverage at some point in the next few days. And even though I have only been drinking decaffeinated drinks for the past few weeks, I'm suffering from caffeine headaches.

How are you doing so far? If you're taking pictures and are posting them online, where are they? Did you find it hard to think of something meaningful to take a photo of?

Are you feeling any effects of only drinking water? Which of these two challenges is going to be the hardest?

Thanks to Hales for the Tweet-out earlier today and to Erin-bo-Berin for the blog shout-out.

January Reflections

The month of January ends tonight. So how did you do with January's resolutions?

Here's my report:
I feel that I've got healthier teeth now than I did January 1. I think I've started a habit that will be good for years to come. Admit it, you will never enjoy flossing. But it's a necessary evil, I guess.

I have posted a blog everyday but one this month. What have I learned? I've learned that pressure sometimes has to be lifted for creativity to come. I really enjoy writing. I really like exploring humor in everyday situations.

Now, onto February! Water only and a picture a day. I will post my pics to That's What She Said but I know you could set up a Flickr account or some other photo blogs.

Ready? Set...GO!!! (And remember to keep us updated with how you're doing. You can leave comments.)


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What you've all waited for...

Get off your pins and needles. February's resolutions are here.

Remember the deal? Pick one, pick two or pick none and just follow. It's simple.

Resolution #1: Drink only water everyday. You may think, "I need my coffee in the morning." Fine. Drink your coffee but only drink water the rest of the day. I want to see how much of a difference it makes.

Resolution #2: Take a picture of something meaningful to you everyday. You can post it on your blog or just know in your heart that you've done it. It could be a person, place or thing. It could be a location. You pick because it's your resolution.

Are you in? Think about it and comment if you're with me.

So how's it going?

How's the blogging going? Truth be told, I missed a day. I had my post written but our internet wasn't working. So I guess I failed. But I'm not too worried about it.

How's the flossing? I'm getting the hang of it. I wanted so badly to keep it up every day that one night on my way home from a late movie I flossed in the car. But sadly, I skipped this past Monday. I was beat and went to bed at 8.

Maybe this little project will teach me to not be quite so hard on myself.

My Month...So Far

Six days in and here's what I've found....

About flossing -

It doesn't hurt as much to floss now as it did before. The floss tape is better than regular floss. Brushing after flossing seems to help. Rinsing in cold water helps as well. I read that women in their 30s (yes, I'm less than a year to that place,) 40s and 50s especially need to floss. Gum disease can lead to other health problems, none of which you want.

Have you been flossing?

About blogging -

This has been a good exercise to get my creative juices flowing. I love blogging, but the fact that I've set myself a goal sometimes makes me not want to achieve it. I know that's weird but it was the same with reading (a possible monthly resolution.) I hated reading in school. In fact, I only finished one book during my whole educational career (at least high school and college) and that was Lord of the Flies. However, the first year I was out of school I read over 10 books. I loved it...couldn't get enough. I think it's the same thing for blogging. It's hard when you have to. It's not when you don't.

Have you been blogging? How's it been for you so far?

Perhaps the word of 2010 for me would be discipline? Nah.

My Floss Findings (and I'm not talking about the stuff between my teeth)

After the 3rd day, I've now ruled out the old type of floss. Days 2 and 3 saw the regular store brand old-school floss get stuck between my teeth, forcing me to go to drastic measures to extract it. Today I've moved on to the tape floss. It seems to work much better.

The problem I've always had with flossing has been the gums. Mine always bleed and hurt for days. It's the same problem I have with working out. I can't get over the pain threshold. So now that I have to, I'm finding it's not so bad. Three days in and my gums only bleed for a minute (awesome visual, huh?) and my mouth hasn't been sore yet. I think it's because I am flossing at night before I brush my teeth, then rinsing in cold water. That's all I can come up with.

I've also done pretty good with the blogging. Granted, today's post was just a video but sometimes that's just going to have to be good enough.

Can you hear that? It's the sound of my gums...crying.

Maybe the Kroger brand of dental floss is not the best to start out with. It is like I'm pushing a razor blade between my molars. I didn't make it to the store yesterday to get my myriad of flosses. That should be a stop in the Civic tomorrow.

In other news, don't judge me. I now own a Snuggie (or Cudlee) and I like it. You can read about the evolution of my opinion of the Snuggie.

January Day 1

Today has been a pretty lazy day so far. Amber came to visit for a few days (remember That's What She Said?) and we've watched 3 movies to ring in this new year.

What's the plan? Well, I'm blogging now and then on to the grocery to get a variety of flosses. Tapes, braids, regular...you name it, I'm going to try it. I fear my gums are not prepared for what lies ahead.

January Resolution Annoucement

Okay, let's go!

We've got two resolutions for January. Pick one, pick two or pick none. No pressure.

Resolution #1 - Blog every day in January. You may know that I have a blog with my bud, Amber. You can go check it out www.babyberandsassymac.blogspot.com and see what is on our collective mind. This is where I'll be blogging every day for the month of January. If you're in, shoot me a comment and let me know your blog address. I'll follow you on my Google Reader (at least for the month.)

Resolution #2 - Floss your teefees everyday. I'm no good at this. I hope this becomes a habit that I take. We'll see. (If you don't want to floss, just go to MentalFloss.com and work on your mental hygiene.)

Are you resolving to either of these? If so, comment away and let me know.

What's a Girl to Do?

I'm no good. Take that however you want it, but I mean mostly that I'm no good at keeping resolutions. In fact, the only resolution that I even half-way kept was a few years back when I decided to not keep up with celebrity gossip. I actually did a pretty good job with that but there were things that I made exceptions for...The Soup, Chelsea Lately, news website headlines, etc. (I say et cetera because there were many more exceptions. I think you're catching what I'm throwing, right?)

So here we are, 2010 and I've got an idea. I'm going to make a resolution a month. I know, I know...if I can't keep one resolution how am I going to keep 12? I can't promise I will. In fact, this idea may fall flat on it's figurative face January 4th. That's why I'm inviting you to join me.

At the end of each month I'll announce what the upcoming month's resolution will be. This is your opportunity to join me. Just comment after the resolution announcement and you're in. Also, as the month keeps trucking along, I want to hear from you about how you're doing.

You definitely don't have to join in every month or any month to read. Sometimes there will be a weekly resolution or maybe a daily one.

The next post will be January's resolution announcement. Remember to comment to let me know if you're in or even if you are just wanting to encourage those of us taking the challenge.