Make the Bed (again)

This blog is littered with "rebooting" drafts and posts.

They all give lengthy, reflective explanations as to why I need to revive this blog, before ultimately being abandoned.

So this time, I'll just jump back in, and won't share posts until there is something worth sharing.

Today's accomplishment:
Made the bed.

Practice Wearing Heels

Let's do that thing where I anticipate what your reaction is here:

Amanda, this is the most ridiculous thing you've added.

I know. And I won't pretend that there weren't some very valid contenders for today's post. I still have a multitude of things that need to be decluttered and cleaned, such as my car, my bathroom, and my closet, to name a few. I also have fully intended to add to my exercise routine... eventually.

BUT, I have a paper due tomorrow, so all that takes a back seat. (I've already accumulated multiple hours of study/ work time today, and this puppy isn't even done yet). Slipping on a pair of shoes while I go about the rest of my business around the house though? Totally manageable.

As with wearing makeup, I don't believe that it is my obligation as a woman to wear heels. I'm sure anyone who knows me personally can count on one hand the number of times they've seen me in them. I tend to be pretty plain Jane with regards to how I dress, and that includes footwear. However, (fun fact,) from an aesthetic standpoint I love them. They are just so dang uncomfortable.

I realized a couple years ago that like working out or flossing your teeth, wearing heels might be one of those tricky things to get into because it hurts a lot at the beginning, but then maybe once you become used to it, it becomes more tolerable. This is still just a theory. I haven't actually worn them consistently enough to know. I did try to work my way up to real heels once. I bought a couple pairs of work shoes with about a 1 inch lift in the back. My goal was to work up to some of the fancier ones pictured here. That didn't take though.

The gold ones in the front are hands down my favorite. I'm not much of a shopaholic or shoe lady. These gave me a glimpse into that mentality though. When I saw them, I fell in love. I didn't need them for an upcoming event. I couldn't think of one thing in my (limited) wardrobe they complimented. I wasn't even sure when I would conceivably ever wear them. I just wanted them. I knew the minute I laid eyes on them that between the gold glitter and the platforms they were better suited for a drag queen or street walker than for little old me, and I didn't care. I have attempted to wear them in public approximately twice. The first time was to a club a friend brought me to a couple summers ago. She took one look and told me she didn't think I'd last the night in them. I had a pair of Tevas in for the ride home, already anticipating the sharp pain my toes and arches would endure. I got about halfway across the parking lot to walk into the club before circling back to the car for the more sensible option. The second time was for a staff event at camp. My feet hurt as I mingled, but I figured as soon as I sat down I'd be fine. The mistake I made was letting a gentleman friend of mine, who is of shorter stature, try them on as a gag. He was so pleased with the additional height and had such an uncanny knack for walking in them that he did not give them back until the end of the evening. I can't say I blame him. As I stood in front of the mirror today my immediate thought was, "Holy crap, I am a GIANT!"

In my current job, heels are completely impractical. There are a few women at my school who wear them, but I suspect they have more experience with them than I do. They also don't spend as much of their day wrangling 5 year-olds. When they do, however, in a pair of shoes that would make me nervous about twisting an ankle, I am always in awe.


Today's Accomplishments:

• Made the bed
• Did a little exercise
• Prepped tomorrow's meals
• Prepped the coffee pot
• Folded my Laundry
• Watched a Ted Talk
• Flossed my teeth
• Put on makeup
• Cleared off my futon
• Cleaned the corner of my room
• Checked my bank balance
• Went to a worship service
• Logged an hour of study time

Clean Out My Inbox

This is one of those nights when I am not up to doing a full on post on how a menial task fits into my grand life plan or reflects on my overall character. Guess what, my inbox is overcrowded and cluttered, just like so many other things in my life. Shocking.

Today's  trip to get out of the house was pretty amazing though. I went on a scavenger hunt at the National Mall organized through MeetUp.com. As I said on Facebook, this is exactly the type of thing I moved to the DC area to do. I got to meet new people and did a whirlwind tour of 6 museums. Afterwards there were drinks and dinner at Gordon Biersch, a nearby restaurant converted from an old bank. A perfect Saturday outing in my book. The event was organized through one of the many "geek" subcategories of groups. Everyone at the hunt had shared my affinity for the museums. Everyone on my team had a knack for riddles and word play (which is why we came in 2nd place!). Over dinner,  we discussed World of Warcraft, board games, crafts, This American Life and Planet Money podcasts, education reform and Zombie literature/culture among other things. Needless to say, I was in my element.

It was a nice change of pace. On the whole, I don't get to socialize much. I don't see much of my camp friends who live in the DC area. I've hung out with my coworkers outside of school only once this year. I love both of my roommates and their girlfriends dearly, but share almost no common interests with them. I am at such a loss for conversation topics with them that I'm now convinced I have social anxiety issues (I'd say "sorry guys!" but I'm 99% sure neither of them read this blog). It was nice to be back in a confluence of "my people".

Here's part of the list of clues we received for today's hunt. I'd be curious to see which of these riddles people find the most solvable.

Today's Accomplishments:

• Made the bed
• Did a little exercise
• Read a book
• Prepped tomorrow's meals
• Prepped the coffee pot
• Watched a Ted Talk
• Flossed my teeth
• Put on makeup
• Got out of the house
• Knocked something off my To-Do list
• Checked my bank balance
• Took a walk (I'll count spending 2 hours hustling around the National Mall as 'a walk')
• Logged an hour of study time (This now replaces "Did Some Homework")

Log an Hour of Study Time

This is the part where I start to up the ante. 

As previously mentioned,  when I put "do some homework" on my list, the emphasis unintentionally fell on the word some.  When it comes to homework and studying, I have always had issues buckling down to get things done. My earliest memories of procrastination/ academically related stress are from 4th grade. My guess is I didn't have much school work to do outside of the classroom prior to that. It always seemed that no matter how much time I spent sitting in front of a book, I never got much accomplished. I don't just mean in 4th grade, I mean through college and my first round of grad school.

I'm not a totally oblivious. I did realize that when I sit down to work, I am easily distracted by, well, anything and everything. When I first took a reading specialist course back in New Hampshire, I decided to figure out how much time I actually spent studying. I would start the stopwatch on my iPhone. Every time I checked my Facebook, got up to get a snack, started glancing at some unrelated reading material, wandered aimlessly out of the room, went to the bathroom or did anything that wasn't actually school work, I would pause it. It is a practice I still use to keep myself (relatively) in line. In those early days of progress tracking, I might get an hour of work done within a 4 hour block. Now, I'm down to 90 minutes or so on a good day; three hours on a not so good day. The study log above helps me keep track of how consistently I work overall (or rather, makes me face how inconsistently I work). I recently started to use the "lap" feature to illustrate just how long I actually sat and focused on a task for.

I'd love to tell you this was an off day, that I have an attention span of more than 10 to 15 minutes, but the fact is this is way better than it used to be. DOUBLE DIGITS! Hooray!!! (Sometimes, I am shocked I graduated high school).

There is an exception to this rule/ habit: When I have a paper due in 2 hours, my fingers nearly fall off from continuous typing. This is how I know that somewhere in me, there is a reasonably focused person. The trick is now coaxing her out on a regular basis. (When I described this whole thing to a coworker, she asked if I had ever been tested for ADD. I pointed out that when attempting a preferred task, such as sewing, I can work for up to 5 hours straight. These were literally my words. This is how I find myself talking now that I work with special ed students. Oh, life as a neurotypical- another new favorite word). My hope is by hitting the hour+ mark everyday, I can focus on shaving down the time it takes to get to that hour and/or stay focused for longer.

Today's other accomplishments:

• Made the bed
• Read a book
• Did my homework
• Prepped tomorrow's meals
• Prepped the coffee pot
• Watched a Ted Talk
• Flossed my teeth
• Put on makeup
• Worked on Wedding stuff
• Cleared off my futon
• Cleaned the corner of my room
• Checked my bank balance
• Took a walk

Take a Walk

With all this talk about how insignificant the amount of working out I've been doing is, yesterday I figured I would kill two birds with one stone. I would walk over to campus (just over a mile), do some homework in the library and walk back. The one cog in my plan? It's spring break at my university, so all the libraries/ computer labs were closed early. 

March in Virginia is turning out to be beautiful, so the walk itself was pleasant. The extra hour of sunlight from day light savings time this weekend didn't hurt either. I'll walk again a few times this week (hopefully). Next week I'll try hitting the library again.

Today's other accomplishments:

• Made the bed
• Did a little exercise
• Read a book
• Did my homework
• Prepped tomorrow's meals
• Prepped the coffee pot
• Watched a Ted Talk
• Flossed my teeth
• Cleared off my futon
• Cleaned the corner of my room
• Checked my bank balance

Get back on Track... take 2

I had such high hopes for today. I set my alarm so I could get up and head out to the 9:15 service at the UU Congregation. I got up so early that I read for a while to pass the time. Then fell back asleep. No worries, I thought to myself as I drifted off. If I miss it, I can go for the 11:15. I woke up again at 10:55. Not enough time to get dressed and make it.

After getting up "for real" I puttered around the house a bit, then went out shopping. After I got home, I batch cooked 4 meals and cleaned the kitchen. I decided to take a quick TV break before diving into wedding planning and/ or academics. Two episodes of The Following, some internet browsing and four hours later, here I am.

Why post at all? Again- accountability. I realize not every one of these is griping reading. That's why I don't link every post to Facebook the way I did with Coming Clean.  I'm holding myself accountable for these small goals, yes. But the unspoken goal behind this or any other blog is to write everyday. It doesn't have to be earth shattering, but as mentioned, something is better than nothing.

Here was today's project off the To-Do list. Put up my Magnetic Poetry set in my room. When this was on my old fridge, I used to enjoy little creative moments while passing through the kitchen. My favorite part is the unexpected creativity. A few key words grab your attention, so you throw them together and hunt out the specific linking words/ phrases that will finish your thought; only 9 times out of 10 you can't find exactly what you're looking for, so you find something close, but those subtle differences change the meaning entirely. I always liked those surprises. Now it is set up next to the door of my room. Should be interesting to see what evolves.

Today's Accomplishments:

Made the bed

Read a book

Prepped tomorrow's meals

Prepped the coffee pot

Folded my Laundry

Flossed my teeth

Got out of the house

Cleaned the corner of my room

Knocked something off my To-Do list

Checked my bank balance

Vacuum the floor

As previously noted, recently I went through a "aww F-it" period. It is proving more time consuming than anticipated to bounce back from it. In the past things like, "clean out the corner of the room" meant look at said corner, confirm it is still clean from the day before, and check it off the list. Today, and all out cleaning spree ensued, which included vacuuming the floor. To give you an idea of roughly how frequently that happens, I'll tell you that I spilled a whole container of cashews roughly 3 or 4 weeks ago. I sucked up at least a small handful of them today from under the table.

Today's other accomplishments:

• Made the bed
• Read a book
• Prepped tomorrow's meals
• Prepped the coffee pot
• Flossed my teeth
• Got out of the house
• Worked on Wedding stuff
• Cleared off my table
• Cleared off my futon
• Cleaned the corner of my room
• Knocked something off my To-Do list
• Checked my bank balance