November 2020 W.I.S.H. Thread - The Beginning of a New Adventure

[PollyannaMom]

Welcome to the November 2020 W.I.S.H. (We're Inspired to Stay Healthy) challenge - The Beginning of a New Adventure!

We're here to support each other with kindness as we each work on becoming or staying healthy during these trying times. Everyone is invited, and we're looking forward to catching up with regulars and welcoming newcomers! So hop aboard and post your personal goals.

We have weekly volunteer hosts, and typically follow a Monday-Sunday format:

Motivation Monday,
Topic Tuesday,
WOOHOO Wednesday,
Thankful Thursday,
Free For All Friday,
Social Saturday &
Self-Care Sunday.

This month's hosts
Nov. 2-8 ~ PollyannaMom
Nov. 9-15 ~
Nov. 16-22 ~ Oneanne
Nov. 22-29 ~ Summer2018



The quote above struck me when I was looking for a "Motivation Monday" heading for week 1, and became the title for this month's thread. This November is certainly going to be different from previous ones! And while we're most definitely avoiding risks in general life, it's a good time to think of little ways to test the waters in our exercise and eating - new recipes, new workout videos, etc.

So what are planning this month to keep your routines fresh and interesting?

 

[PollyannaMom]

My November goals:

Physical health - get back on track with drinking enough water!

Emotional health - schedule some appropriate extended family socialization (I'm thinking of a Zoom game night.)

 

[glss1/2fll]

I think with November I am going to get up at o'dark thirty again and do my yoga class. I went three plus weeks sleeping in last month. No wonder I was feeling so stressed.

I'm three pounds away from a new decade, and would like to see it by the end of the year. The month would be nice, but I think I don't want to be that diligent in my healthy choices. I'm feeling in the current environment just working on little things is all I can manage!

intro: I'm Linda from the Pacific Northwest. DH and I have our 33rd anniversary this month! We were empty nesters but have taken in our niece's 8 year old twins while she goes to school. We're a little busy and a lot tired!

 

[Oneanne]

November is going to be a new start super healthy month, I can feel it. To kick things off I finally finished painting the living room, 5 months after that fateful day when I said I can't live with the grey a day longer. I even got the new white drapes up, all that is left is to wash the sheer curtains today and get them back up.

And it is going to be a month full of Christmas... since I'm not hosting or cooking anything for Thanksgiving, I just need to show up with my store bought pie, I'm headed right to Christmas. It always comes on so quickly that I'm hopeful two months worth of celebrating will be enough. I've already turned the car radio to the channel that is 24x7 Christmas music, over the weekend I binge watched old seasons of Holiday Baking Championship and intend to start a ritual of watching something Christmasy on TV every evening. The tree is going up sometime this week, sans ornaments, so that the kittens get bored with it before it gets decorated. I've even started my Christmas shopping. We've been having beautiful weather, but today is going to be the last day, so I may try to get at least some of the outside Christmas lights up.

 

[sjrec]

November is going to be a new start super healthy month, I can feel it. To kick things off I finally finished painting the living room, 5 months after that fateful day when I said I can't live with the grey a day longer. I even got the new white drapes up, all that is left is to wash the sheer curtains today and get them back up.

And it is going to be a month full of Christmas... since I'm not hosting or cooking anything for Thanksgiving, I just need to show up with my store bought pie, I'm headed right to Christmas. It always comes on so quickly that I'm hopeful two months worth of celebrating will be enough. I've already turned the car radio to the channel that is 24x7 Christmas music, over the weekend I binge watched old seasons of Holiday Baking Championship and intend to start a ritual of watching something Christmasy on TV every evening. The tree is going up sometime this week, sans ornaments, so that the kittens get bored with it before it gets decorated. I've even started my Christmas shopping. We've been having beautiful weather, but today is going to be the last day, so I may try to get at least some of the outside Christmas lights up.

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I think starting Christmas early is a fantastic idea! This year more than ever! I host Thanksgiving, though, so will need to keep fall decorations out a little longer. It will just be my small family and we decided to have it at the beach. So I am definitely getting Christmas things out here at home before we leave. I found the cutest Peanuts Christmas wrapping paper at the Dollar Store last week-so already have some gifts to wrap.

 

[sjrec]

This month I need to up my walking-I have taken too many days off.
We have a fair amount of leaves to take, so that will be be good exercise as well.

 

[Summer2018]

I'm Summer. I live in coastal Connecticut, an hour outside of NYC. I've lost 27 pounds on Noom. I'm currently working to maintain my weight loss, and will set new goals when life calms down. After one year of teaching Kindergarten, I taught PreK in a public school system for 18 years. I now teach Kindergarten again as I begin my 20th year of teaching. I am currently teaching 17 students remotely since we have a case of Covid in our school. We move to hybrid on November 10th. I have a 22 year old daughter turning 23 this month. Due to the pandemic, she is out of work from her supervisory position at Lord & Taylor where she's worked for 4 years. She was on track to be visual manager before the pandemic. Her last day was a successful fashion show that she organized and modeled in. Now that L&T is going out of business, she’s returned to school and is taking online classes at an Art & Design school in NYC for Fashion. I’m married to a 61 year-old essential worker and Disney lover.

Today was rather sad for one of my students. Since we went virtual last week, he has been absent. After making calls and sending emails without a response, DCF contacted me to let me know that his mother abandoned him.
Some people have no business being parents.

 

[PollyannaMom]

@Summer2018, it's so hard when we see our students hurting.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Topic Tuesday - What do you want to make time for?

This quote pictured above hit my Instagram yesterday, and really struck me. (If you've been here a while, you know I love this sort of "opposite but still true" stuff. ) So it got me thinking about how people are very aware right now of how precious time is. Things that used to take up a lot of our time aren't happening right now, and some of them we miss - but some of them we've realized we don't. Is there anything you've dumped and replaced with a healthier habit, or anything you want to dump, and what do you want to replace it with?

 

[sjrec]

We aren’t eating in restaurants and rarely get carry out. Usually at my daughter’s house because she has Door Dash! I have a few quick meals to make on hand. And because I go to the grocery store less often we don’t have as much “junkier” food on hand.

 

[sjrec]

 

[Summer2018]

I want to dump eating after dinner. I have no idea what to replace it with.

I've been very stressed out about the election and voting during Covid for months. I didn't trust voting by mail, and I really felt like I needed to go in person. Once I saw the lines in NYC for early voting on the news, my stress level increased. Being so close to NYC didn't give me comfort.

Every Election Day, we have PD. I typically present to other teachers or if I'm attending, I have to be there early. So, it's early morning or evening voting for me. I really didn't want to go during the crowded times. My asthma is being triggered by the cold weather and my stress level, so I decided to take a day. Best decision.

I was able to vote with DD mid-morning. It was still nerve-racking, but the lines weren't as long as they would be before or after school. It's done. Now, I don't want to think about it until we have the final results.

 

[PollyannaMom]

@summer, glad you were able to vote smoothly! All three of us here used the mail-in option, and I tracked that our ballots was accepted. I don't even plan on looking at the results until tomorrow (and even then, I doubt they'll be considered "final".)

I did do some election related stuff with the kids this week. Yesterday we read "Duck for President," then made a ballot box and played voting. It was as much an excuse to practice their handwriting skills making the ballots as it was a social studies lesson, but they had a blast! (Among other races, chocolate ice cream beat out vanilla, and cats defeated dogs as best pets. ) Today we put some election vocab words into ABC order, and they did one of those "If I were president" writing/drawing assignments. Tomorrow, we may color a map of the US red and blue, but it kind of depends on how I feel.

 

[Oneanne]

In Washington State we’ve been vote by mail fir quite a while, there are also a lot of ballot drop boxes which is how I submit my ballot. I dropped it off a couple weeks ago, day after it came, and they were already clearing the box because it was full.
We’ve been given the day off and the company has had a very effective voting promotion, primarily on social media. Very proud if that. I will watch tonight. I’m thinking we’ll get a fairly clear picture of what is going to happen, but it’ll be several days before we know the results.

 

[PollyannaMom]

...there are also a lot of ballot drop boxes which is how I submit my ballot. I dropped it off a couple weeks ago, day after it came, and they were already clearing the box because it was full.

Sadly, one in Boston was attacked by an arsonist.

I'm out in the burbs, but I mailed mine. On line tracking said it was received and accepted.

 

[Summer2018]

Sadly, one in Boston was attacked by an arsonist.

I'm out in the burbs, but I mailed mine. On line tracking said it was received and accepted.

That’s the kind of nonsense I was worried about. I’m glad your ballot was accepted.

 

[glss1/2fll]

Well, since this entire family is nothing but introverts, our lifestyle has hardly changed! We just go out to get what we need when we need it, no more window shopping/gawking. Haven't felt like I've dumped anything--except the chocolate. I'm feeling that! I did buy some candied ginger that I'm munching on every once in a while. It's supposed to be good for tummies.

I've gotten up this week to do yoga. Am really glad about that. I'd forgotten how much I missed it while I was being a tired sloth in October! I'm still keeping up with my weight lifting and a couple of times now, I've done squats while I wait for something to heat up in the microwave. Think I'd like to do more of that! Tonight I'm going to cook acorn squash in the air fryer. I usually do microwave but thought I'd give it a try this way.

Voted weeks ago. Oregon has been mail only for years. I love it! Today my landline is finally quiet! Sooo many phone calls that I'm sure were voting related (yup. we never answer that line!).

 

[theluckyrabbit]

...
Today was rather sad for one of my students. Since we went virtual last week, he has been absent. After making calls and sending emails without a response, DCF contacted me to let me know that his mother abandoned him.
Some people have no business being parents.

I am so sorry about this. Hugs to you. Sometimes the pain and hurt can be harder when we know we cannot fix things.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Good Morning, and Happy Wednesday! (Staying away from politics, of course, per DIS rules) what are you celebrating today?

<--- This did NOT happen!

But I am celebrating my new water heater!! It was put in yesterday, and my shower was lovely and warm this morning.

I'm also celebrating my cat, Abby - because it was down to her that I found the leak in the first place! She often asks to go exploring in the basement tool room, but isn't allowed in there by herself. She wanted in on Monday, and I and consented to go in there with her...and found some water along the wall behind the heater. I was able to shut off the valve before any damage was done to items stored in that room, and put a call right in.

Which brings me to my third woohoo - that DH has a Lodge buddy who is a plumber, and could get to us right away! I only had to go one day without hot water, which I know was very lucky!

 

[Oneanne]

Woohoo... to me for finally finishing painting the living room and getting the drapes put back up, I'm really happy with how it looks. I started to move a few things around to make room for the Christmas tree, which I'll probably put up today. I did a bit more Christmas shopping yesterday, so I'll have some stuff to go under the tree as soon as I put it up. My Niece and Nephew-in-law won't be coming to Christmas, so I'm getting their gifts together to leave with them at Thanksgiving... plus shopping early means not being in crowded shops.

Woohoo... for not having to host Thanksgiving! I had my hotel reservation for Thurs/Fri nights, but changed it to Weds/Thurs and added Weds as a day off. The plan is to do a hike early on Thursday, which I am very excited about. I'm also excited to be staying at my favorite fancy Victorian hotel, which has propane stoves in the rooms so there will be some nice coziness going on. I'm thinking I'll pack one of my fluffy throws with me to snuggle in to.

Woohoo... for a lighter work load for at least a couple weeks. I should even have some time to do some on-line learning and self-enrichment stuff.