March 2023 W.I.S.H.- Spring Into Health!

[Summer2018]

One of the changes I've made while learning how to work with my ADHD, is to not save chores till the weekend because inevitably the list would become overwhelming and nothing would get done. It is better for me to break them down in to smaller chunks and do a little bit every day. In particular I strip/launder/remake the bed on Thursday, that way it is nice and fresh Friday and Saturday nights, the nights I can usually sleep at will without a designated early wake up time.

That being said, what am I doing this morning? Chores. But this house is still new enough to me that they are more pleasurable than not. I'm also still working on the big reset, moving things around and setting up the second bedroom as my sleeping room.

And as predicted we're not having rain today, so I will get out for a walk a bit later.

In the summer I do a little every day, and the house is much better maintained.

I wish I could do that during the school year. I arrive home from school absolutely exhausted every day. I force myself to make dinner, and if I’m not completely shot, I’ll make the veggie/fruit smoothie. After dinner, I’m worthless and tend to doze off in front of tv from 7:30 on. By 9:00, I’m showered and reading in bed. 9:30, lights out. This is mostly a fall/winter problem. I do notice that I have more energy and motivation in April/May which leads me to believe that it’s not just exhaustion but also the darkness and cold weather.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Hi, joining this thread. I'm LadybugsMum from North Carolina and solo mom to twins. I got my Schwinn IC4 set up on Monday and my goal this month is to do a minimum of 2 rides a week with 4 rides a week as the stretch goal. I need to get my stamina up for my May trip to Disney and just work on my overall fitness.

I don't see a designated host for next week... I'll pop back in this evening and if there still isn't one I can move my week forward.

I can move into your old week, then, and do the 13th - 19th.

 

[ShannyMcB]

Stripped beds and did a bunch of laundry yesterday because one of my cousins and her kids were coming by today. We had a nice visit this afternoon...ate way too much in the way of chips and dip though...opps.
Just noticed a headache and it occured to me I didn't have any caffeine today...another opps.

 

[LadybugsMum]

I did a 35 min walk yesterday while my kids had soccer practice. We relaxed the rest of the day. Today, I've rearranged one of the kid's rooms along with doing some decluttering (not nearly enough though ). I returned some Amazon stuff to Whole Foods, took some big boxes to the recycling center and now I’m sitting on the couch.

 

[PAsFab5]

I can move into your old week, then, and do the 13th - 19th.

And I will do the last week! I love when a plan comes together!

 

[Oneanne]

MONDAY MOTIVATION

What is your motivation for the coming week?

 

[piglet1979]

Hi, joining this thread. I'm LadybugsMum from North Carolina and solo mom to twins. I got my Schwinn IC4 set up on Monday and my goal this month is to do a minimum of 2 rides a week with 4 rides a week as the stretch goal. I need to get my stamina up for my May trip to Disney and just work on my overall fitness.

In a little bit it's time to start planting for tge garden! Going to plant my first batch of lettuce and tomatoes when DH gets home from an errand. So weird to be planting considering it snowed last night.

I wish I could have a garden. We tried once. We have too many animals here. They just eat everything. They even ate the hot peppers and my daylilies. Plus I tend to kill any plants that I try to have. I did not get my grandma's green thumb. Really that would be both grandma's, one grandfather and both of my parents green thumb. Not sure how that one skipped me.

 

[piglet1979]

I got Cinderella. It seems pretty fitting.

I had a good weekend. Friday we didn't do much. On Saturday DD had her riding lesson and volunteering at the barn and we got grocery shopping done. DD and I took a short nap before heading over to watch the twins. They are really mobile now. I was glad I had DD to help. About the time they went to bed DD left for her job of night feeding the horses.

Sunday was fun. We celebrated DH's grandmother's birthday. She will be 83 on Thursday. She was in a great mood and seemed to have a good time. It was only a total of 8 of us so nothing big. DH has a small family. It is just his grandmother, mom, step dad and little sister (she is 21) then the 4 of us. We played Apples to Apples and his grandmother actually played with us. Normally she tells us she doesn't play games so she won't play. She did really good too.

DD had a bit of a rough weekend. One of the horses at the barn was put to sleep on Friday, unexpectedly. She was like 30 and got colic. So on Saturday some of the younger kids were really sad but they also had to take ques from the kids and the parents. One of the little ones didn't know yet. They told the parent and they were holding off on telling her until after her lesson. She rode that one all the time. Then last night while DD was feeding there was another one that was colic. There was some worrying and the owner and barn manager came and are kept a close eye on her. I was pleased to hear from DD that the horse is back in her stall and is doing much better. Colic can be as small as a stomach ache to blockage and the intestines' getting twisted. They roll a lot with colic and in a stall they can get stuck and not able to get up. which then can make things worse. This this what happened with the one that died. So being in a larger area like the arena helps to keep them from getting stuck. Plus on top of this the blacksmith was out last Thursday and many of the horsed hoofs were cut too short and they were in a lot of pain. None of this is good for the horse but the barn manager taught DD how to give the horses Brute (advil for horses) and she was able to learn a lot more about colic.

On top of this Piper (DD's dog) yesterday went to go stay with my inlaws for 2 nights. They are watching her while we are on vacation so we are getting her used to being at their house. DD cried. It was like watching a parent dropping off their child for the first time. Piper is her baby. She packed up all of her stuff to send with her. All of her toys, all 5 of her blankets (yes we have a blanket hoarder dog), and both of her dog beds. She really misses her. The rest of us miss her too, just not as much as DD. Piper will be back tomorrow night and all will be right again.

 

[Oneanne]

This is a busy week for me: first real Pilates class today: massage Tuesday: Naturopath Weds: passport Thursday: Chiro Friday. So my motivation is to stay on-point and not forget to do any of it.

I've dropped one pound of the minus four pound goal for this month, so heading in the right direction there. The goal to lose 12 pounds before the cruise is still achievable, despite my lack of effort the past few weeks. Sunset is currently at 6pm, yah!, and after the time change this coming weekend will be at 7pm, double yah! So there will be day light time for evening walks. Really looking forward to experiencing the long spring/summer days living here... and for it to get warmer.

 

[ShannyMcB]

My motivation is to keep up with the goals I have set. Last week I met my soup/salad goal and based on the lunch I packed for tomorrow this week is on track.
Hoping the kids go to sleep early enough to do a quick burn workout tonight.
Brought the seedlings inside as tonight and tomorrow are going to be cold. DS7 gave one of the tomatoes a bit too much water yesterday so hopefully it dries out a bit indoors.

 

[LadybugsMum]

Well, I need to up my timeline for decluttering the kids toys/closets and my closet. I'm having the upstairs painted and new floors installed starting 3/20 which is sooner than I anticipated. Soooooooo much to do.

 

[Oneanne]

TUESDAY TOPIC:
Activities, Hobbies and Crafts for mental and physical health

The link between exercise and improved cognition is well established: crafting can stimulate your neurological system, reduce anxiety and stress and improve your mood: learning something new can help you improve your quality of life and heck, can be fun!

What are some activities, hobbies or crafts that you currently do and how do they help with your mental and physical health? What are some new things that you'd like to learn?

 

[PollyannaMom]

What are some activities, hobbies or crafts that you currently do and how do they help with your mental and physical health? What are some new things that you'd like to learn?

I'm currently taking some classes through a nearby university's "senior college" program (short, non-credit courses for those 50 and over.) I think both the intellectual stimulation and the chance to be social is good for me.

I used to be big into scrapbooking, and would like to do more of that again. I enjoy creating things and love looking back at the photo albums.

 

[Oneanne]

I knit, but only simple things where I don't need to keep looking at a pattern and can finish before I get bored. It is an effective self-regulation activity, to calm my brain down.

I walk, but need to be more consistent about it. One of the joys of moving here is the variety of places to walk and truly be out in the wild, getting all those nature benefits. As mentioned, next week I will start blocking out time to do one walk a week with the group I found.

For learning, I like to take classes, mostly around crafting. I want to learn painting, I've got watercolors and books and an online class saved, but haven't gotten in to it yet. And I've been thinking about learning a different language, leaning toward French but it seems pretty complex and overwhelming so haven't started that either. I'm keeping an eye out for events around town that might be interesting. The museum will do a series of lectures sometime soon, I need to ask my niece when. And there are things at the Grange right down the street. The first weekend I moved in they had a group of Scandinavian folk singers, which is just the random kind of thing I would have loved.

 

[piglet1979]

What are some activities, hobbies or crafts that you currently do and how do they help with your mental and physical health? What are some new things that you'd like to learn?

When I got really depressed at the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021, working out is what got me out of it. Talking to my husband I was pretty bad. The treadmill has been wonderful and what got me working out over the cold months. I need to get back into my routine from back then. I have been skipping lunch a lot lately (this is when I would work out) because of missing work for different things with the kids. Hoping for things to settle down some. If I can't take a lunch I need to get on right after work before I sit down. That is my down fall. Once I sit on the couch after work I am done for the day.

I don't really like to craft much. I used to sew a lot when I was younger but haven't since I graduated high school. I made my homecoming dress and a prom dress one year. I was really good at it but I have lost the skill. I am sure I can get it back with just a little bit of time.

DD is our crafter. She was really born into the wrong family for this. DS, DH and myself do not have a creative bone in our bodies. DD gets this from my mom. She knits, crochets, paints, and draws. In 2021 for Christmas she painted (acrylics) a picture for each person in my family. Each one had something about the person. My moms had a horse, one of my nephews was someone playing soccer, both their favorite activities to do. She drew and painted each. They never saw it coming and they all loved them. This does help DD with her anxiety and depression. Right now she is knitting herself a sweater. I do tell her that she needs to work out and that would also help her anxiety and depression.

 

[ShannyMcB]

My salad is still sitting in the fridge. DS10 and DD are home sick with a stomach thing that seems to be largely worked out by now. Me? Feeling pretty gross now...I have been largely without soda for awhile now as I've been treating it as a treat....today all ginger ale all day.
Hoping tomorrow will be better. DD got sick at school so she has to be home again tomorrow. Nothing "healthy" happening today.
I used to be onto knitting....think I may try to pick it up again to keep my hands busy at night.

 

[Oneanne]

WEDNESDAY

What is making you jump for joy today?

 

[PollyannaMom]

It's only 10:00am here, but so far - seeing the geese flying back and knowing spring is coming!

 

[Oneanne]

I'll also woohoo for Spring coming.. we've had mostly sunshine the past few days and if you stand in the direct sunshine there's just a touch of warmth to it.

Hopefully this will turn into a woohoo... I got sucked into taking the new Noom quiz yesterday and they hooked me by predicting I will actually lose about 30 pounds between now and the cruise if I follow their program. Seems like a lot, but I have been thinking about doing something that will give me structure and force more accountability, so I'm going to do it for 6 months and see. I know Summer, you're getting good results with it, and I did do well with it back in 2020, so I'm optimistic.

And woohoo... I have the naturopath appointment today. I'm starting to feel like I'm coming out of the post-move burnout period, but I'm still looking for her to help me put together a solid supplement/vitamin program for ADHD support so I can move forward.

 

[PollyannaMom]

...but I'm still looking for her to help me put together a solid supplement/vitamin program for ADHD support so I can move forward.

Not specifically about vitamins (though maybe there's a video on it in there - I haven't watched even nearly all of them) but I've recently discovered this ADHD YouTube channel and really like it:

https://www.youtube.com/c/howtoadhd