One goal reached!

This weekend was hot and humid.  We had a lot to do, but still made it a point to be on the boat for the better part of two days.  So, of course, the husband asked me if I wanted to water ski on the first day.  I was scared.  The last time I skied I hurt myself.  That was one of the reasons I wanted to lose weight and get fit this year.  Last year, I packed on 20 pounds and my already basic water skiing skills were put to the test.  Dragging around more weight with less upper body strength proved to be my undoing last year.  When we went out again on Monday, I decided I was going to try.  I was visibly shaking when I put the skis on in the water!  And it wasn't because I was cold.  The water was relatively calm because itw as later in the day--about 5pm--and most people had gone home for the day.  I was already used to the water because I swam with our daughter for quite some time earlier in the trip.  The negative inner voices were attacking me, but I decided to try anyway.  It took me some time to tell him to go.  Would I fall, would I hurt myself, would I be humiliated and not be able to get up at all?  The hubby told me I would pop right out and would be amazed the difference between this year and last thanks to my workouts and modest weight loss.  He was right again!  And I was so excited and so grateful to get up on the first try without hurting myself or feeling like it was a real struggle.  (It's always work, but it was easier than when I weighed 12 more pounds and had no upper body strength!) 

I was grinning ear to ear because that was a goal and I've reached it.  I can get myself out of the water and ski!!!   I didn't stay up long because a boat went by and I let go on the bumps.  I feel so much better about myself now than I did last summer!

Add to that:  We got the garden done and fenced and I read two books over the weekend.  Plus I had a good snugglefest with our daughter.  I'm tired today, but I am happy!

I said no to stress!

I realized tonight that I had to pick up snacks for tomorrow morning's meeting, and I won't have time to stop on the way.  Rather than making a mad dash to the store, I checked the closet in our guest room and now have three different bars--cereal and granola--plus two boxes of flavored water pouches.  If nobody else brings snacks, at least we'll have something!  And I didn't have an adrenaline rush.

Eliminating some niggling stressors

It's no secret that clutter and I do not get along.  If my physical space is cluttered, I have trouble concentrating on tasks, so the tasks pile up and the cycle gets worse.

Thursday I tidied up my desk and took care of a few things that were hanging around in my office and needed to be moved.  In fact, a visitor to my office noticed that it was pretty clean.  Win!  In addition, a co-worker and I took on a project others were stressed about (and one that was being avoided).  We spent approximately two hours and finished one portion of both.  Now we just need another two hours and it will be complete.  It's been needing it for years (I'm not exaggerating), and it feels so good to see the results of our efforts.  As a plus, it was a great bonding experience for us.  Hooray all the way around!

And on the home front, things are actually staying mostly clutter free.  Our daughter and I tackled her room (not without tears) last weekend, including washing bed clothes, and she an I both feel much better about it.  Piles of things were dragged out of her room--clothes, toys, and books to give away plus a huge bag of garbage.

My body is not as cluttered with weight as I thought it would be since I'm retaining water and indulged in a cookie one day and had ice cream sandwiches on two days.  That sweet tooth really amps up during water retention time, so it's a double whammy.  Instead, I'm at my lowest weight this year at weigh in today.

This week we plant the garden and I have another outlet for mind clearing and exercise which will give us wonderful food starting in August.  I love this time of year!

None of these things have been handed to me on a silver platter;  I've grabbed them from a sweaty platter, working my butt off for both diminishing body and diminishing clutter.

Do I say "no" at home?

While updating the lists on the side of the blog this morning, I realized that I haven't tracked saying no at home. Hmmmm... Is it that I don't say no, or is it that I just didn't track it? I will have to be more mindful of refusing to allow clutter and compulsion to rule my home life. Perhaps defining "no" will help.  Saying no to physical or mental clutter, activities we don't have time for, and taking up personal time with work items when it isn't necessary.  Saying yes to organization, smoother schedules, and calm all count as saying "no."  So her goes:

• Clearing out a space. (Cleaned out a dresser on Sunday.) 
• Not volunteering for something I don't have time to do. (I didn't commit my time to a booth at Health Night at our daughter's school because the schedule was crazy.) 
• I allowed myself to say yes to an unexpected visit to friends. (And let go of the compulsion to go shopping for the sale items at three stores that night.) 
• Doing something to get it off my mental clutter list. (This happens with things I have put off like the registration for my 25th high school reunion, which I took care of this morning.) 
• Recycling orphaned socks! 

What Other Items Count?

• Weeding out a file 
• Clearing an item off my project list 
• Unsubscribing to an email list 
• Choosing not to do library work at home (which isn't always easy!) 

 Hooray! I feel like I have said no this month!

The yes to life list for April, which wasn't well kept.

The yes to life list for April, which wasn't well kept. 4/21/12 Went to Fusion class at 9am after dropping Rebecca off at All County practice. 4/20/12 Took a vacation day to watch my niece and nephew. 4/19/12 Took a vacation day to watch my niece and nephew. 4/18/12 Took a vacation day to watch my niece and nephew. 4/17/12 LEft work early to take Rebecca to softball practice. 4/16/12 Went to Fusion yoga class.