The Beginning of Finding Happiness

Howdy Friends,

I've skipped out on you all a few days again. Sorry about that. I'd like to tell you it's going to get better but it probably isn't and I'll tell you why later.

You haven't really missed too awfully much anyway. The weekend was a pretty good one around here. On Friday Anika had her friend Shania spend the night. We pretty much did nothing all day but Hubby & I did manage to go for a ride Friday night for a few hours. We just went over to visit with his friend Johnny & my friend Christie. We bought a new Side by Side on Friday and he was dying to show it off. I haven't even took pics to share with you yet but I will do that tonight. It's a really nice ride.

On Saturday Anika went with her friend Brooke to a birthday party and spent the night with her so The Hubby and Ax took them a short ride. Axle REALLY enjoyed himself. He's going to love being in the hills, I can already see it. Saturday night we went down to Hooter's and had dinner. I got the Club Sandwich, Baked Beans, Curly Fries and a Salad. I ate till I was sick but it was so good. I left enough room for a slice of cheesecake though, delicious. We made a stop by Walmart on the way home & I spent a bunch of money on useless stuff. Isn't that how it goes when you go to Walmart? Ax got new shoes & Annalee got some new outfits. I also picked up a pair of leggings and two tops for myself. All I can say is bring on Spring!

Sunday was NOT a good day and although I share a lot on my blog, I'm not even touching this one. Let's just skip the day, shall we? I will say that the only good of the day was that Hubby got to take the kids riding and they had a blast of course!

Yesterday was a much brighter day. The morning was slow and not a lot got done. The afternoon was a bit more productive. We played outside for a bit but the sunshine was very deceiving, it was cold. Our time was minimal but the sunshine was good for all of us. Yesterday evening I started decluttering my bedroom and boy what a job that has been. You would not believe the junk I've already threw away and I have SO much more left to go through. It felt good though to just purge!

Today has been another quiet day around here. I'm still working on my bedroom and the kids are just kind of hanging out. Definitely not anything to complain about.

Now, as I told you, I'm having to cut back my blogging. This is mostly due to the Happiness Project I've started. I officially started my project yesterday, 2-18-2013. After I reviewed all 12 Areas that I listed that I wanted to work on, I gave some serious thought as to where to start at on this project & just like in the book, Increasing my Energy was most important to me as well. I have 3 children and a husband to care for so it's necessary that I have as much energy as possible to keep up. With that said "Increasing My Energy" is Part 1 of my project and here is the things I plan/hope to do to help myself in this area.

Sleep Better- I don't sleep much at all and any of you who reads my blog regularly knows that about me. I'm up late and then back up early. I think if I was more rested, I would feel better and feeling better always helps in being happier. In order to sleep better, here is what I'm aiming for to help.

* Start bedtime Preperations by 8:00 pm (Laying out clothes, putting food in crockpot, baths, etc)

* Lay down by 10:00 pm on ALL weeknights

* Take my Sleeping Medication

Implement a Few Healthy Habits- Now I have a whole section that one month I'm going to work on regarding my Health but I do think there is a few things I can do that will help me increase my energy & I think it's important to implement these right away.

* Take a daily vitamin

* Get Sunlight every day if possible

* Drink at least some water

Clear Clutter- Now I know your thinking "WHAT" does this have to do with increasing my energy but truly it does. I get so overwhelmed with not having any organization in this house. I spend countless hours working at cleaning and feel like I'm turning circles so I truly believe that clearing the clutter will help me keep things under control in half the time. That is valuable energy saved.

* Purge, Purge, Purge

* 1 Minute Rule (If it takes less than 1 minute to do then just go ahead and do it)

* 10 Minute Rule (Spend 10 minutes before bed just doing a quick pick up)

Just Do It- There is so many times that I NEED to do things but don't or that I should do things but opt not too and then I spend all sorts of wasted time feeling guilty that I didn't accomplish anything.

* Keep Appointments (Don't reschedule unless absolutely necessary)

* Make myself get up and do things even when it's easier to just sit around

* Limit my Computer Time A LOT (which is why I'll not be blogging as much. Currently, I hide behind my computer to kind of block out the real world and this is a problem. It makes me depressed so I must do this!)

* Make a list of nagging tasks that I've been putting off and just do them (Nothing extensive but things that I can eliminate and no longer have to think about)

So there you have it, Month 1 of my project. I won't be updating you daily on how I'm doing & I'm not even making it mandatory that I complete every task every day BUT I do want to implement these things in my life and see if it makes a difference. I'm betting it will :)

As far as blogging goes, I'll be updating as often as possible but with a 10:00 pm bedtime, that isn't going to be too often. I hope to update at least one or two times weekly. I'll keep a camera handy with me so that I can share pics and events that are taking place in our lives. 

I really truly think that this project is going to be so much more beneficial to me (personal growth wise) than any checklist that I could ever create and try to mark off. Don't get me wrong, I think I'll complete goals just throughout this project but right now I'm not focusing on completing goals, I'm focusing on lifestyle change! Wish me luck.

Happy Tuesday Friends

Hope everyone is having an awesome week :)

Angie