hello monday | two

hello lists.  I love making lists.  I make lists on scraps of paper, in my journals, notebooks in my purse, on the back of receipts... you get the idea.  I just love the feeling of organizing my thoughts and then being able to cross things off at the end of the day.

I start out with basic/general lists like this one and then I break each point down and get very detailed.  I need this thought process. It calms me.  Don't expect me to keep a list like this on-line or on my tablet, phone, etc.  It needs to be in ink. In my handwriting. Lots of colors and doodles... Don't judge me. haha.

hello cold and wind.  While I appreciate the clear skies due to the rain and wind we've had, I could do without the wind.  I don't mind the cold weather and actually enjoy the cold crisp days.  It is January, after all. 

 hello new skin regimen. After much (very much) prompting from my mother, I actually took a really good look at my skin. I've never been one to think too much about make up or cosmetics.  However, I've realized that I really should be doing something for my skin, especially because of where I live. The air quality is horrible - so much pollution and it's VERY dry hear.
So, for the first time (better late than never?) I plunked down some cash (a gift card + cash actually) and took the plunge. I've always enjoyed the Bare Minerals brand of make up and now I am trying the Active Cell Renewal Night Serum and the Multi-Wrinkle Repair.
Sheesh. Those sound serious.  I'll let you know if I notice a change.
Time to MINIMIZE the aging process wherever I can. ;)

hello finals week. Well, it is here. Finals week for my Hannah Joy. She is a senior and is ending her first semester of her senior year. I honestly can not wrap my brain around that one. She has a full day today and then half days for the rest of the week. Looking forward to that extra time with just her.  I might have to spoil her a little bit while I'm at it. :) 

hello tiny game pieces.  I did not enjoy finding you with my bare feet this morning when I went in to wake up the little ones for school. Oh.my.word.  The rude awakening.  Well, that prompts a reminder that one of my biggest items on the To Do list is to purge the amount of toys between the two little ones and set up a new organizational system for them. They do try to keep things picked up, but clearly there is just so much.  This is a priority task!  Time to MINIMIZE the chaos!

So there you go. hello monday and hello new beginnings.

Inspired by my friend, Lee at Embrace Life, Hello Monday provides a peek into the coming week - in all its glory. Join us and Lisa for the Hello Monday fun

“The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are.”

hello monday|one

**Edited to add: This post was originally posted on Monday night.  When I didn't see it post to my fb wall, I went back to check it and it was gone.  Ugh. After some work, I think I finally have it fixed.  Hopefully it's here to stay. =)  Anybody else having glitches with Blogger?

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I've been enjoying the "hello monday" posts that have been out in the blog-o-sphere and wanted to try it out! I have been waiting for the new year to roll around so that I could start fresh.  Then I almost missed it! Ha!  Not going to let the late start throw me off already.  So, better late than never.  By the way, I've mostly read the posts on Lee's blog, but I believe it may have originated on Lisa Leonard's blog.

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hello first monday of the year.  I am truly looking forward to new beginnings this year like never before.
hello Olivia's Mexican Restaurant. My husband and I went out for a quick lunch and when he asked where I wanted to go, I responded "Somewhere yummy and fun."  This made us both laugh so much. I don't know why in the world I said it like that, but now it's going to stick. I just know it. Anyway, he took me to a little Mexican cuisine place that was recommended to him.  It turned out to be very good.  I enjoyed the Chile Relleno and Taco combo plate.  It was yummy AND we had fun. We always do. :)
hello normal routine.  The kids all returned to school today and are back on regular schedule.  Hannah has a water polo game at least 4 days out of the 7 this week. Taryn has different club meetings and the little ones were already loaded down with lots of reading and homework for the week. Marco and I have all of our regular responsibilities too. Yep. Back to "normal".
hello new OneLittleWord. My new word to focus on this year is minimize. I've already found myself conscientiously saying "no" to all the To Do lists in my head.  I have found that when I can say no to it "all", I can start truly saying YES to what's really important.

hello to real joy.  It's high time I got back to doing things that bring me real joy. Not just that feeling of satisfaction because I didn't disappoint someone or knowing I met others' expectations.  That's too much.  A very good friend of mine recently shared this statement with me, "I keep trying to remind myself that if something is making me feel anxiety, it probably needs to not be given any of my time or energy. "
Normally, I would not allow myself the LUXURY of feeling that way about something - but the new me is going to accept it 'cause I know I need to change my thinking.

So there you go. hello monday and new beginnings.

“I used to dream about escaping my ordinary life, but my life was never ordinary. I had simply failed to notice how extraordinary it was. Likewise, I never imagined that home might be something I would miss.” 

― Ransom Riggs, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children