I am feeling very much alive!

I attribute my success with the Month of Vitality to three things:

• Pretty charts
• My 13 personal commandments
• Talking about this project with friends

42goals.com is awesome and really helped me to focus on the task at hand! I am a visual person and logging my data every morning and seeing the results was thrilling! As you can see, I made my flossing goal one week out of the month, but gave it a valiant effort. And just because it's February doesn't mean I am going to stop. As for the gym...booya! (Weird scale on that graph, dontchathink?) Speaking of the gym and my last post about going to Pop Physique with Helya (a type of Barre  fitness class), well I saw on Facebook TODAY that my new Leadership SLO (yes, that's another story) friend went to a BarreFit class in SLO. Well, I had no idea that even existed here! So she gave me the scoop and I am going with her on Monday after work to try it out! Whoo!!

I tried really hard to consciously think about my 13 Personal Commandments over the course of the month. I often found myself literally pausing over decisions, thoughts, or conversations about who I really am, what I stand for, and what is important to me. During the past month, I concentrated on 'Do it NOW', 'Be Patient', and 'Be Bold'. And guess what? I did all of those things! 

The 1-minute rule is officially in full effect in the Dwight Household. We are constantly tidying things up and putting things where they belong. It seems obvious, but just the conscious thought of, "oh it takes 30 seconds, just do it" is a huge motivator!  

I have surprised myself this month with the amount of patience I've shown over our bathroom remodel. Steve has knocked out ALL of the tiles, taken out the old drywall, and now there are just lonely 2 x 4's. I can see the progress and I can tell Steve is thoughtfully planning out the next step, so I am patient. I AM PATIENT! Plus, I tackled a nagging task and cleaned out the master shower and wow it's heaven in there!!! 

My boldness surfaced a few times this month too. Again, to my surprise and satisfaction! I went on a three day retreat to Wonder Valley (east of Fresno) with a group of 40 strangers for a program I was accepted into called Leadership SLO. The retreat was just the orientation to the program which lasts most of 2012. None of us knew each other and we were thrown into this "summer camp" sort of situation where I had roomies, played name games, experienced my first trust fall, and managed to get across the hot lava! The whole experience was scary, intimidating, refreshing, and exciting. I met amazing new people who I can already call friends and I can tell that this year is going to open my eyes to the nooks and crannies (and people!) that I didn't know existed in SLO County. 

Now, if you look ahead a bit to my March goals, you will notice that the focus is on work.  Well, either I am psychic or just really want to be the Valedictorian of Happiness Projects, but that little 'Aim Higher' bullet has already come to fruition.  While I was busy being bold and being Jaime, I was called into my boss's office and was invited to step in as the new Human Resources Manager at work!  I happily accepted and starting March 1, I will be taking on HR duties in addition to my current EH&S work. I am over-the-moon, honored and flattered that they think I am a good fit for this position. It actually made me stop for a moment and realize that maybe, just maybe, people don't see me as a small wimp, as a pushover, as a nervous nancy. Maybe I am none of those things afterall! Maybe I am great!

Anyway, I am having a ton of fun with this little project and sharing my progress and I LOVE hearing from you! Heather, thank you for the comment on my Happiness Page and I love your own Secrets of Adulthood :) And, Maren, thank you for taking interest! Really, I was sort of caught off guard when you mentioned my project at the bonfire because really I don't know who all reads this stuff, so thank you thank you thank you for asking me about it and letting me tell you. :) Means a lot!

Cheers to February, the month of Luuurve...oh and tax prep! 

February - Money

• Use freezer food at least twice a month
• Make lunch 4x per week
• Streamline bank accounts 
• Check-in on 401k
• Indulge in a modest splurge (I see a new couch in my future!)
• Buy needful things
• Give something up

Checking in on my vitality

January - Vitality

• Go to the gym at least 3x per week  - I'd much rather go to Pop Physique with Helya, but the regular gym will have to do.

• Floss 3x/week - Yeah, I suck at this one, but my dentist does NOT wanna know how much of an improvement even THIS is!

• Drink 1 glass of water per day - I haven't been tracking this, mostly because I already know my graph will look like this:

For some reason I really resist drinking water. When I am pouring myself a glass of milk with dinner, I think "you should just have some water right now" and then another voice chimes in, WATER SUCKS! Yes, in all caps, and font size 16!

• Go to sleep earlier - Two things keep me up: an assortment of good tv on my DVR and pillow talk with Steve.

• Toss, restore, organize (use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without) - I already went through my closet. This weekend we have plans to go through our books and organize the office.

• 1 minute rule - don't postpone any task that can be done in less than one minute - LOVE this rule. I shared this useful idea with Steve last night and he said he already does a lot of tidying up every morning while he flosses his teeth one-handed. He said this as I was picking up a wine glass, a water glass, and some of his candy wrappers from the living room from the night before. ARGH!

• Tackle a nagging task (finish CD project, cancel magazine subscriptions!) - Oh my gosh, this CD project is the bane of my existence.

• Act more energetic - I'm about a 7 on the energetic scale. I will tell you when I am NOT energetic: when I am changing into my gym clothes and when I am horizontal on the couch. I will tell you when I am MOST energetic: when I realize it is Bachelor Monday and when I've already met my gym quota for the week!

Snazz

If you ever visit San Francisco, I highly recommend staying at the lovely Joie de vivre property, Hotel Carlton. It is quaint by all accounts. The front desk clerk is hilarious, the decor is eclectically gorgeous, the restaurant Saha is aboslutely divine (crab stuffed artichoke hearts!) and the best part - the happy hour every evening with free wine and live music. The wine social is hands down the reason we stay here. One of the front desk employees sets up his keyboard, throws on some shades, and jams on that keyboard like it is his reason for waking up in the morning. After each applause he looks up with a giant grin and that's when you sink a little bit further into the cozy couch next to the crackling fire, glass of wine in hand, loved ones nearby, and you realize that you are HAPPY.

January - Vitality!

I've now posted my Happiness page linked above! Each month, I will let you know how it's going. Since it is already mid-January, here's my first update:

• Gym: on target!
• Floss: behind schedule!
• Water: oopsy, it's probably been 1 glass every other day
• Sleep: check!
• Organize: cleaned out my closet yesterday and have a giant trash bag for goodwill (STILL throwing out clothes from 10 years ago), a giant trash bag for the garbage (LOTS of holey socks), and a stack of old shoeboxes (why do I keep those?!). 
• 1 Minute Rule: Everyday when we get home, I make it a point to tidy up. Shoes go to closet, mail goes to office, lunch bags get put away, gym clothes go in hamper. 
• Tackle a nagging task: still nagging
• Act more energetic: Need to work more on this one. I think being cold makes me feel less energetic and I just want to curl up and snuggle. (Personal commandment: Identify the problem!) So, now I've been wearing my new fingerless gloves to work so I can get things done while staying warm. Also, COFFEE! We didn't have coffee yesterday morning and I felt lethargic all day. I realized it was probably because I didn't have the coffee that I am used to! I only drink a cup a day, but it makes a difference in my energy level!

And so it begins

Christmas Party at the Madonna Inn

Photos by Moore Photography

Happiness 101

I just finished reading The Happiness Project which really inspired me to make a difference in my life this year. There are many things I want to take directly from this book like not only making resolutions but holding myself accountable to them. The book really reached me because it was formatted in the same way my brain works. Tasks organized in categories, monthly resolution themes, and repeating messages that are helpful year round. 

My favorite part of the book was the Secrets of Adulthood, where the author, Gretchen Rubin, came up with a list of truths that she has learned over her adult life. I put together my own list of secrets (and stole some from her). Wonder what they are? Well, you're in luck because I am going to create another page with a link up top with my own goals for 2012, personal commandments, and secrets of adulthood. I hope you can look at my lists and think about them for your life, and I encourage you all to leave comments sharing your own little truths. Stay tuned for that later this week!

A couple things that I've had in my head since reading:

• One minute rule: Anything that takes a minute or less - DO IT NOW. (i.e. bring shoes to closet when I get home, put mail in office instead of leaving it on the counter, make the bed)
• What's fun for other people may not be fun for you, and vise versa.
• Most decisions don't require extensive research. 
• Be bold. 

And, just in time, I found some great tools from mightygirl.com to help me organize and keep my resolutions. My favorite is a website called 42 Goals. I've already started tracking mine here. Some of my goals are simple - make lunch 4 days per week, go to the gym three days a week, floss my teeth more, remember to thaw out freezer food, and spend less on daily expenses! I like this web app because it's easy to use quickly, and the nerd in me loves the graph capabilities to help visualize my progress (or lack thereof!)

The 2 hour Bachelor Monday nights are killing me! ;)

Anyway, I will be sharing more of my thoughts and progress as I make my way into this year! Glad you are here for the ride! And if you want to borrow my Happiness Project book, let me know!