It's My Blog and I'll Do What I Want

There is a tradition here that on Friday's we round up all of our favorite things of the week and share them with our readers. There are tons of link-ups for this and it's hugely popular. If you go back a few months, you'll see that I've participated a great number of times.  

On the one hand, I love posts like this because, often times I am introduced to a new blogger that I fall in love with, or a new person to follow on Instagram that will provide loads of inspiration. These posts are fairly easy to put together and are a great way to spotlight some well deserving bloggers/people.

On the other hand, I feel like these posts are kind of a cop-out post because they are so easy to create. Also, many bloggers choose the same posts and things to share, and it can become a little redundant. I'm totally guilty of doing this, and I'm not saying that people who do this are lazy or that they shouldn't. Not at all! (Remember when I said I liked posts like this too?) OK. So let me explain this feeling.

I was sitting at my kitchen table last night staring at Magnus (yes, I named my Macbook) and trying to channel some inspiration for something to write about for todays post. I could have just done a favorites post and picked a few good blog posts, some nice pictures from Instagram, and couple of fun Pins from Pinterest, slapped them in a post with witty tag lines and been done in 15 minutes, but it felt wrong to me. Especially since I just got my head back into the blogging game. 

To be quite honest, I have several posts in the draft stage that I could have polished and published today, but that felt wrong too. I could have moved up a post that is scheduled for later this month, but that wasn't right either. Something just felt... off. Still does as I sat at my kitchen table again this morning with a bowl of cereal and Magnus' blinking cursor staring expectantly back at me. 

Finally, I just started to write. Letting my fingers fly across the keys putting my thoughts and feelings into words on the screen. There were several pauses for more thought, to quiet barking dogs, and swat cats off the new kitchen island. I also got a few ideas for future posts, so that's a bonus! 

I guess, I'm saying all of this to say that blogging traditions and schedules and rules can be changed at the drop of the hat, and they should be. Especially when your heart tells you it's not working for you this week/month. Life is unpredictable and can bring on great changes, so adjustments must be made in order to survive. This is why my editorial calendar is ALWAYS written in pencil (or on post-it notes). 

Have you ever felt this way about a post or your weekly blogging routine? 

Currently - March

I unintentionally took the entire month of February off, oops. But I think I needed it. We've had a lot of personal stuff going on and I was emotionally and mentally spent. Because I was gone for so long, I thought we could do a little catch-up in the form of a "currently" post. How 'bout that? Good? ok.

Loving: Our new kitchen. We didn't do a remodel, but it feels like it. An island was added in last week and we purchased a new (smaller) dining table and chairs over the weekend. It feels so much more put together now than it did before. I told my mom yesterday that I felt like I finally had a real grown-up kitchen. Haha!

Reading: How to be a Good Wife, by Emma Chapman. It seems to be a mystery type novel about a woman who's mother-in-law gave her a book on how to be a good wife to her son when they got married. And something about her maybe going a little crazy? I'm not that far into it, but it's already really interesting. I picked this book up at Target the other day.

Feeling: Good. I've started my new healthy routine and we're getting the ball rolling on some house projects. Things are good.

Watching: Call the Midwife. It's a British drama about 1950s-60s group of midwives who provide care for people in a low end part of London. This is the second time I'm watching the show, and it's still just as good as the first time. You can find the entire series on Netflix.

Writing: Blog Posts! I'm trying to get back into the swing of things, but writing a little bit every day. That's really hard when you haven't done it in a while, but I'm hoping that I can turn it into a habit like I did with my health tracking.

Listening: Silence. Most of the time I don't like my house to be completely sound free. It creeps me out. But lately, I've made myself sit in the silence to think and reflect on some things. I'm growing to like it.

Wanting: Some good news from our contractor this when he goes underneath our house to inspect the plumbing for our upcoming bathroom remodel next week. We have plans to shift some things around and I'm hoping we get the green light on that.

Needing: To go through our back bedroom. It's been a sort of junk room for the past two years and I think it's finally time to just start re-homing some things and throwing other stuff away. We don't need two broken TVs or an unused TV stand anymore!

Hoping: My next school session goes well. I'm taking what I've heard to be as a tough class, so wish me luck! Also, like this past session, I'm having to go all four days a week. It's a bit of a pain in the butt for me and for Hubs.

Avoiding: Cleaning out our back bedroom. Haha! Really I just need help with it is all, and Hubs works so hard during the week, so maybe we can tackle it (or at least get started on it) this weekend.

Wishing: My grandmother would make up her mind as to when the memorial for my great-grandmother will be. I'm upset enough about the whole situation, but if we get a last minute date then Hubs won't be able to make the trip with me.

Trying: To stay focused on my To-Do lists and not get sucked into the couch during the day anymore. I need to get my steps in, and staying busy is one of the best ways I can do that.

Hating: This wait for the new season of Game of Thrones. It's so close, yet still so far away!

Missing: My friends. It's been a long time since I've seen some of them and I really, really need to change that. I only have a small group, but they mean the world to me.

Praying: That my brother's move at the end of this month goes smoothly and that he is able to settle in well. His new position will be stressful, and a seamless move will help keep the stress levels down. This move will also be really hard on my mom, as that will make two of her three children who have moved out of state.

Thinking: About what to do for our two year anniversary comping up in April. We are already getting away that weekend because my cousin is getting married (just two days after our anniversary!), but I'm trying to figure out how to make it special for us too.


What have you been up to while I was away?

Find What's Right for YOU

Ok. First let me say that I have been a super bad blogger. I'm still here, just don't have too much to say. 

That's a lie. 

I have a lot to say but it's not blog worthy. It's mostly rants about how the administration at the main campus of my school are making ridiculous changes to how the nationwide campuses work. Huge pain in the ass that not only makes things much harder for the students, but is causing our professors grief as well. But that is a long story that will bore most of you. 

Today I'm here to talk about my fitness journey. I announced several month ago, probably too soon, that my doctor put me on the Paleo diet. Yeeeaaahhh. About that. Firstly it was such bad timing to be put on such a restrictive diet. It was right before Thanksgiving and Christmas, plus we were going on a cruise the last week of December. Secondly, this particular diet isn't an easy one. After a conversation with my mom about my picky eating habits, we decided it wasn't something I would realistically be able to stick with for a long period of time. Thirdly (is that even a word?), I HATED every minute of it. H.A.T.E.D. I was a miserable, crabby, hungry-all-the-damn-time person that my husband was terrified of, therefore the Paleo diet was thrown out the window. 

Hubs and I discussed what was reasonable and doable for us, and made a plan of our own. I ordered a new Jawbone UP3 activity tracker and gave my UP24 to him.  I track my calories and nutrition with MyFitnessPal which links up with the UP app to calculate all that stuff. I bought new tupperware for meal planning and a water bottle with measurements on it to track my water intake. We try to workout for at least 30-40 mins about 4-5 times a week.

Using this plan, I've lost a total of 14 pounds in about a month. I'm much happier, and don't feel so deprived and hungry all the time. I am starting to get better, more quality sleep than I was before too. 

Lesson learned folks. Just because a doctor recommends a particular diet program for you, doesn't mean it's the right one for you. Especially if it's not a sustainable plan you can do for the rest of your life. 

Have you ever been recommended something by a doctor that just wasn't right for you?

P.S. I'm finding a new doctor.