Monday's Matter #2

My weekend looked a lot like everyone else weekend. I finished up the last of my Christmas shopping and had lunch with mom. I spent Saturday night working on a service project for church and on Sunday we put up the Christmas tree and went to bed at a reasonable time. Since none of that is particularly noteworthy I'm going to go ahead and continue with the Monday's Matter tradition.

1. Let's start off with some of my favourite blog posts lately. Rachel wrote about The Importance of Feeding People Well and had me nodding along in agreement as I read. Alyssa shared how she made A Simpler 2016 and really motivated me to start thinking about what changes I'm going to make in 2017. Louise wrote about Comparing Apples to Oranges and it was a reminder that one of my worst habits lately has been comparing what's happening with me to what's happening with everyone else.

2. I'm working on creating my 52x52 List for 2017 but for whatever reason it's not nearly as easy as it was last year. I have a grand total of 10 things on my list right now...so that's going to need some work. I think I'm struggling with it this year because everything seems so unknown. I don't know where I'll be or any other details of the upcoming year. Last year I at least had an outline. This year I've got nothing.

3. Every so often Stuff Mom Never Told You does an episode that really shifts my mind into over drive. Lately they've done two in particular that have left me with lots to think about like this one on Adoption. And this one about working in the non-profit world was one part comforting (it's not just my experience!) and one part frustrating (why is this okay?). 

4. I've been really into grilled cheese lately. I'm not entirely sure where this new found love came from because typically I am totally over grilled cheese and sick of eating them all time time. This is a true testament for the food situation at camp this past summer, it's like I have a quota of grilled cheese per year and I'm just trying to make up for lost time. 

5. I started the process of setting up my Happy Planner for 2017 and it turns out it's more of a challenge than I was anticipating. I love the idea of vertical layout, but I'm not sold yet. I'm hoping it's a learning curve and once I get adjusted I'll be planning like the best of them. That's an exaggeration, there's no way I'm going to start spending $20/week on planner sticker kits. 

6. This is the quote I'm working on keeping in my mind this week:

Pinterest

It's a busy (this is going to me my non-word for 2017, I've started cringing every time I see it written)  full week with a lot of family and friends and commitments. And I'm going to work on not letting all of that over shadow the reason we're celebrating. Doing my best to be patient with others (and myself), showing love and being gentle in the days to come. 

March Currently

The first part of March was pretty straight forward. I worked a bunch of overtime at the office job and worked on a handful of things for camp in my spare time. And then last week things took a little turn (hopefully for the better) and now life is a little more uncertain. 

Reading... Month after month I seem to fail at reading anything that isn't a news article, Buzzfeed list, blog post or Instagram caption. I can't even come up with an excuse this month and it makes me sad to think about all the reading I'm not doing.

Playing... Occasionally 1010! 

Watching... I jumped back on the Big Brother Canada bandwagon this season, but now I've sort of fallen off. The contestants throw a lot of tantrums and I just can't watch that kind of nonsense. I have been keeping up with Criminal Minds, although I'm not sure I like what's happening there either. 

Trying... To pace myself. I worked a lot this month and my inner introvert felt a little neglected.

Cooking... Nothing too fancy this month. This month my best meal discovery has been a pita with chipotle mayo, cucumber, cheese, red onion and chicken cooked in a sweet & spicy sauce. 

Eating... This month there has been a lot of bagels, yogurt, crackers, bananas. Basically I've been eating like a toddler. The last week I've been getting my act together and returning to meal planning. 

Drinking... Lots of water with cucumber and/or lime, a cup of coffee to start the day and a glass of pop every now and then.

Calling... The dreaded Guiding related phone calls in an attempt to coordinate various schedules and activities. 

Texting... The usual crew. H., R., J. and N.. Sometimes the ladies I carpool with to work. 

Pinning... I didn't do a lot of pinning this month, occasionally some ideas for theme days at camp and little staff moral boosters. 

Tweeting... Mostly just the automatic tweet from Bloglovin' when a post is published.

Going... Hopefully to visit H., however we don't have an end date for work yet. We've been extended so I'll be working past March 31st but we haven't been given a new contract yet, which is incredibly annoying but I'm trying to be patient.

Loving... Daylight!! Saturday I looked outside at 7:33 p.m. and it was still daylight out, which is purely magical.  

Hating... "Work uncertainties. I like to have a plan, complete with specific dates. "You're being extended until sometime towards the end of April" does not make for a good planning base." is what I wrote on March 22...now I'm starting to recognize the work uncertainty might just be working in my favour. 

Discovering... Life plans can change pretty quickly.

Thinking... My mind has been very busy lately. There's a lot of stuff going on up there, which has lead to a lot of motivation to write and colour. 

Feeling... Sleepy. And also hopeful and optimistic. 

Hoping (for)... I'm going to go ahead and be a little vague here but I'm hoping for a big change in April. 

Listening (to)... Podcasts! My favourites are Bringing Up Betty, Stuff You Missed in History Class and Camp Code. 

Celebrating... Easter! 

Smelling... Spring! There have been a handful of days this month where I've been able to open the windows and let in some fresh air. 

Ordering... I do a lot of browsing but not a lot of ordering. 

Thankful for... Family, Friends, Cats, Community, Creativity, Education...

Considering... In this moment I'm considering if I want to shower & get into bed or get out my colouring book and let my mind relax a little more before sleep. 

Starting... To get back into a routine. Working overtime messed with my groove and now that's over I'm reclaiming my leisure time, making meal plans and generally returning to a more well rounded life. 

Finishing... I can't think of anything really noteworthy I finished this month.