WATCHING: Ponyo
We are big Studio Ghibli fans around here. And we've slowly been introducing our daughter to movies that we love. Ponyo is one of them and our girl is quite a fan. She loves the part where Ponyo declares "Ponyo loves Sosuke!" and loves to say "Ponyo loves me!"
READING: Board Books
I haven't started to tackle my reading list yet, but we do quite a bit of reading around here. Our daughter loves reading and quite the collection of books. We recently found this book which has been such a hit. The pictures are adorable and we love the message.
Our daughter loves this page and pointing out Frida Kahlo's "pretty flower hair clips."
LISTENING: to the Happier podcast
I mentioned this podcast before and I'm quite a fan. I started listening to podcasts in the shower a while ago and it has really helped with keeping me from feeling overwhelmed. You know how your thoughts run wild when you have a few free moments to yourself in the shower? Well I'd often feel overwhelmed from all the thoughts. When I started listening to a podcast during this time, I was no longer running through my never-ending to do list and it helped to focus my mind and also relax me. I rotate through a few different ones that I enjoy and Happier is one of them.
EATING: less chocolate!
I'm not exactly sure how I managed to do this, because it wasn't even anything that I consciously tried to do... I've stopped grabbing candy and chocolates from all the candy dishes at work. I still eat chocolate, and have a particular weakness for Lindt truffles, but I'm not constantly eating Reese's cups and Twix bars and haven't been purposefully walking by candy dishes all day long. I'm feeling pretty good about it, too!
DRINKING: coffee floats
So glad I've cut back on chocolate because I don't feel quite so bad that I drink a coffee float every night. Hehehe. My hubby treats me to one every evening after our daughter goes to bed. YUM. Makes my day!
WEARING: some fun Dr Seuss inspired outfits!
Last week was Dr Seuss week at my school and we had a fun spirit week. Above is my Sneetches themed door and you betcha I dressed up like a Sneetch! I actually love spirit week because I enjoy wearing creative outfits while having specific parameters to wear. I would honestly love having a spirit week every week. The truth is, I am not so good at opening my closet or dresser and thinking "What should I wear today?" and have ALL the options. I'd rather be told "Wear Silly Socks today!" and figure out an outfit around that. If you're curious about our Sprit Week, here are the days we celebrated:
Many Colors Monday (wear as many colors or as much of one color as you can!) - I wore a rainbow Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious tee, except I messed up... I should have saved this for Wednesday!
Fox in Socks Day (silly socks day) - I wore Mickey & Minnie socks and a Mickey Mouse dres
Read Me Shirt Day (wear a shirt with words or book-themed shirt) - I wore a Nintendo alphabet tee
Thing 1 Thing 2 Day (twin day) - my intern and I dressed up as a star bellied Sneetch and a plain bellied Sneetch!
Books, Blankets, & BEAR (Be Excited About Reading!) (pajama day) - I had planned to wear my Olivia PJs, but school was canceled on Friday!
MAKING: progress on my 18 for 2018 list
I managed to set some pretty big goals for myself, most of them requiring me to toil away for a while, so I've been working and making progress! I can't wait to share once I complete my first one!
I managed to set some pretty big goals for myself, most of them requiring me to toil away for a while, so I've been working and making progress! I can't wait to share once I complete my first one!
PLANNING: my days strategically
Or at least trying to! Work is so crazy that I have to be a master at productivity! I've been getting better at putting everything (including filing and organizing time) into my calendar. I've also been using Trello to keep track of my To Do, Today, and Ta Da lists. These three lists really help me focus on the main goals for the day, not get so overwhelmed with my ever-growing To Do List, and celebrate my accomplishments and feel like I'm actually being productive even when my days are super hectic. Right now I'm working on trying to force myself to plan out the next day before I leave for the day so I can start my mornings ready to be productive. If you have any awesome productivity tips or resources to recommend, please share!
Or at least trying to! Work is so crazy that I have to be a master at productivity! I've been getting better at putting everything (including filing and organizing time) into my calendar. I've also been using Trello to keep track of my To Do, Today, and Ta Da lists. These three lists really help me focus on the main goals for the day, not get so overwhelmed with my ever-growing To Do List, and celebrate my accomplishments and feel like I'm actually being productive even when my days are super hectic. Right now I'm working on trying to force myself to plan out the next day before I leave for the day so I can start my mornings ready to be productive. If you have any awesome productivity tips or resources to recommend, please share!
This seems kind of like a slight procrastination tactic when it comes to my 18 for 2018 list, but I am actually feeling more refreshed and inspired as I clean out my pins. Its interesting to see how my style has changed so much since I first started pinning and which things I must REALLY love, since I've pinned them about 8 times. Hahaha. I also had this random secret pinboard that I just pinned anything and everything to. I've been working on organizing those pins and I love that my things are much more functional. Plus, I'm getting prepared for # 12, right?
WANTING: our new fridge to arrive already!
Last week our fridge died. As in, we woke up one morning and our refrigerator that was working the night before was no longer cold. So after tossing everything out, hauling my mini-fridge home from work, and doing some quick grocery shopping, we searched and searched for the perfect within-budget and within-space-parameters fridge. We knew we didn't want a built-in ice-maker or water filter and were pretty sure we wanted a side-by-side, so our options were pretty limited and made for quick and easy decision making! The only down side was that there was a two-week wait for delivery! So, we'll be living with a toddler and a mini-fridge for another week!
FEELING: guilty about missing Girls' Day
Hinamatsuri, or Girls' Day, is a Japanese celebration on March 3rd. We completely missed it! Hubby and I discussed bringing down the whole display and strategically planned when it would be brought down and packed up to maximize our enjoyment, while minimizing the destruction of our toddler, but we completely missed it. Our beautiful Hina Doll set (pictured above) is mine from when I was a little girl and my father carefully packaged and shipped it to us last year from Japan. It is absolutely gorgeous and so meaningful to us to put on display. I'm feeling pretty guilty that we didn't do it this year, but at least we have many more years to celebrate...
ENJOYING: my little package of goodies that my friend Naki sent!
My sweet friend Naki recently sent me a little package to help motivate me on my 18 for 2018 list (see #16) Although I'm not quite ready (or able) to start crafting yet, I've been admiring my new goodies and trying to brainstorm some ideas... and hoping to get crafty soon!
So how is your March starting off? Do tell!
So how is your March starting off? Do tell!