Give Yourself the Gift of Productivity

Christmas is coming! You know what that means. No matter what phase of life you are in, there will be some extra length of time away from your normal schedule. Dare I suggest it, but this could be a time to create a new norm rather than let everything fall to pieces. Because, unless you are leaving your house in perfect order before going out of town, chances are you still have to function in your house over the holidays. There is also the possibility of extended house guests! In the best of holiday circumstances it can still be hard to retain your sanity, specifically as a homemaker (this is my realm and -probably- that of my audience).

I only recently stumbled upon Fun, Cheap, or Free by Jordan Page thanks to the video that popped in my YouTube feed this morning when I went looking for an aerobic workout. I was inspired and thought it was worth a share.

The video is of Jordan's "Block Schedule". I've already been trying to loosely base my day on hour-long segments. Jordan suggests breaking your day into 3 hour blocks. Watching the video, I realized that my day is already broken into very similar blocks to the ones she describes in her day. The "ah ha" for me was the consistency of putting corresponding activities in the same parts of the day throughout the week.

I took notes on her set up, which was good, because, although her site provides a printable, it is a fill-in-yourself page (located at the bottom of the page). So here is my reproduction of Jordan's schedule which I will follow with my slightly shifted version.

(Pardon the small font.)  Jordan has school-age kids, so their activities are a big part of her day. Mine are still under school-age, which lightens my load up... for now. I must say, nap time is my favorite time. It's Me time. I'm writing during nap time right now. 

Edits aside, I'm happy to keep those couple of cleaning sessions in my schedule. This has not been my strong suit. I'm a minimal house keeper. A couple of speed cleaning sessions, when planned on, will be a great way to up my cleaning game. It's amazing what you can get done in less than a half hour. I'm going to run an experiment. I'm pretty sure if I push myself, I think I could vacuum my whole house in under 30 minutes... Stay tuned for that. I have to wait for my boys to wake up on their own first.

....

Success! Three levels, seven rooms, and two poopy post-nap diapers changed, all in less than 25 minutes! Minus stairs and switching plugs, the actual vacuuming took only 15 minutes. This is the power of the focused use of timers and simple FOCUS. This is something we're trying to teach our boys: tasks take a lot less time if you just DO them without extra wandering and playing around.

Another thing I'm happy Mrs. Page emphasized is the importance of blocking in your sleep. Even she admits to being a "night owl", which is what I naturally lean towards as well. The fact is that being a night owl doesn't mean you actually need less sleep. For me, at least, it just means that the sleep is shifted so I get the same amount. If I get to bed late, I wake up late... especially when pregnant. Fortunately, during my last pregnancy my boys sweetly let me sleep. They played quietly until I got up to feed them. If screaming happened... well, that was an effective alarm clock. So, in the last year I've tried very hard to get to bed earlier on a consistent basis, weekends exempted (Charles does breakfast those days). I've even made (small) steps toward getting up earlier to get through my opening routines before the "hangry" screaming kicks in now.

These blocks are a great way to plan your day. It ticks all the boxes while allowing plenty of individuality. The idea of using focused chunks of time instead of micromanaged hours is very freeing. Adding in some alarms is very useful for keeping on-task without wasting time watching a clock. Jordan suggests setting additional alarms for 15 minutes before the end of a block. This is great for facilitating transitions. An additional thought I had with those last 15 minutes is that if you get everything done before that timer, then those in-between minutes could be "phone check" times. Jordan makes a point of being "unplugged" for the bulk of the day. I'm fine with that, but I think using those optional couple of minutes kind of as a reward for getting things done. Delayed gratification can be a wonderful thing.

Now for the Holiday Bonus Round. Jordan showed an alternate example schedule of a working mom in her video. I feel that the following tip should be very handy for holiday prep in general. For office work, Jordan suggested using the morning working hours for the more brain-engaged tasks and the afternoon for moving/physical tasks. I'll let you decide which holiday tasks are brain vs. body oriented. The point is to use the fresh morning energy for your alert brain and then be moving in the afternoon to get through any post-lunch slump you experience.

I'd encourage you to watch the full video to gain your own insights and then use that printable to your advantage. Happy Holiday Blocking!

Don't You Wish You Were My Neighbor? Garden Report 2018

Welcome to winter! Do you miss things being green? Hopefully dreaming of my summer will help scratch that itch.

I'm not sure what the science behind this thought is, but I'm pretty sure every human enjoys seeing Before and After images. Good things you're a human (unless you're actually a robot) because here comes a whole bunch with limited commentary. Give your brain a rest and let your eye feast!

We shall begin with my inmost circle of influence of my own garden starting with my new veggie garden.

We had been talking about about some raised beds for me, but hadn't decided on a location. Once we figured out that there was a good spot along the fence, I just started digging! Maybe we'll add some brickwork and more dirt in the future, but I was happy to have my "bit of earth". And I must say it really is very nice dirt once you dig all the weeds out. My planting scheme was loosely based on "square-foot gardening". I had raspberry starts which gave me a couple of berries this year, and then I planted peppers, onions, leeks, radishes, tomatoes, and basil. The basil was on accident; I meant to plant spinach instead but must've grabbed the wrong seed packet. I forgot to take any pics when it was in full production mode, but it looks quite lovely after the fall clean-up where I moved the berry bushes from the one end to along the back edge. I'm hoping the leeks and onions to over-winter ok.

Now for the front beds.

It's fun planning somewhat symmetrical plantings for the sides of my front steps. The goal is to take out more of the irises (let me know if you want some next fall), but this year I was happy to rearrange my other perennials. I forgot to take a true Before pic before the pre-digging pruning session. The geraniums were trying to eat everything. That is why they are in time-out in the big pots now. I'm happy my roses survived another year and I was able to split the mini rose along the left side. I was also excited to receive my first peonies from a family friend. I look forward to splitting those in the future to spread them around in place of the irises. Those irises have been very happy. I inherited them with the house when they were in one huge clump that had clearly never been split up after its initial planting. My have they grown since I spread them out three years ago-ish.

The boys sure enjoyed the part of this process when they had free reign over one side after I had harvested my "walking onions" (not pictured). (I need to improve on the timing of my Before shots.)

Step with me to the other side of the fence, for this year I gained my own Secret Garden.

I never met my neighbor, but he has abandoned his house and the yard that he obviously had no care for. It had been hard watching become more and more overgrown, but with the hedge along the fence growing through to our side, we decided enough was enough. Charles had a friend come with a chainsaw to cut it all down. Then it was my job to chop it into manageable bits to cart away to the dump. We worked together to load the other miscellaneous trash, like the tire and garbage cans that you can see in the pictures above.

I also tamed their front beds, gifting some of my geraniums and irises to create a planting. The pavers are actually metal plates of some sort that I found back by the shed. The mulch came from the rotted bits of the wood that was found within the hedge and the wood pile in the back.

Stacking all of that wood was another job of mine.

I'm so glad Charles bought me a wheelbarrow before I did this part of the project. A full cord of wood and a bunch of free mulch for my payment.

I did not take my own After pictures of the Secret Garden because Charles made a video to brag about his amazing wife's gardening prowess. Highlights are that we moved almost 2 tons of refuse in the course of the summer.

Bonus round: I was invited to help another neighbor with their front beds.

This was extra gratifying because it was a service I had offered to them before during a previous summer. I wanted to liberate their peonies from under the tree on the left side as well as some light pruning. It took any extra year of letting the grass grow on the wrong side of the border for them to invite me to step in, which I happily did. 

This is one way I help create a more beautiful world: one garden at a time. I'm happy to employ my landscaping skills in behalf of those who either don't think they need it or don't have the skills/time themselves to make it happen.

Here's my After-After photos to help us segue back to snow....For Now We Wait For Spring.

Ring in the New Year with Self-Celebration: Instead of Self-Criticism

Happy New Year! We survived! That feels like something big after all that happened in 2016. Unless you were living under a rock. Lucky you.

'Tis the season of Resolution Making. I'm sure we already have our generic goals on our minds that we despair of accomplishing.

What a great way to begin a new year. Not!

Instead of being a downer and focusing on all the things we sucked at this past year, I'd like to break the pattern and celebrate what was great about my year and I encourage you to turn your thoughts in a similarly positive direction.

Started My First Blog

 

After ending my formal education two years ago, I haven't had much reason to stretch my writing muscles. Putting words together to form thoughts to share was something that I've kind of prided myself on probably since middle school. So ending my hiatus was something I'm really proud of.

In eight (or seven since December didn't really count) I have published 23 posts, gotten almost 1500 pageviews, and someone in  France is reading this, which is really exciting for me since I have a mental love affair with French-ness in general. So, merci.

Have I been great on my consistency? Not really. Do I hope to get better at that this year? Yes, but I allow life to happen as it will in this respect. I figure as long as I stay passionate about this project, then it will continue. I hope that will be a long while and will be a growing experience we share.

Survived First Big Road Trip with Babies

 

With two under three, in a small car, with no AC, and a month on the road visiting family and seeing sights, this was a big thing to accomplish. Somehow we didn't die. We lived instead. We had some amazing experiences. My favorites were the Devil's Punchbowl Beach in Oregon and the Monterrey Aquarium, hands down.

I don't know how much Jon will remember in the long run on his own, but he loves looking at our pictures from this adventure. I'm sure we will do more traveling in the future. Just maybe not so much this year. (We're hoping to save up to go to England in two years.)

Celebrated 5th Wedding Anniversary

 

In this modern age when the family and marriage institutions are under attack, it's another big thing that we are still together and going strong. Currently the average length of a marriage before divorce is eight years. So we are technically passed the halfway point of the statistic, but I think we'll make it far beyond that point.

Being part of the LDS religion, we truly believe in eternal marriages and sealed family units. I think this means that we don't go into this big commitment without serious thought and prayer and open eyes. I know in our case, at least from my side, I married Charles knowing that I was going to fall in love with him to a much greater extent than I did during our (very short) courtship through the course of our married life. I think I was lucky to have seen that in my own parents' relationship. That laid a very healthy foundational expectation of love and marriage. I know not everyone is blessed in such a way, and that is an unfortunate contributor to a lot of our current social problems.

This is not to say that everything is always rose-colored and smooth sailing in the Horikami household, but I can confidently say that our problems are pretty small in the grand scheme of things. We see our occasional upsets as growing experiences rather than deal breakers. We know that we married imperfect beings while being imperfect ourselves. We are on  a journey of growth together. (In rough nerd-speak:) What is a quest without challenges? Such a quest could not be as fulfilling when the destination is reached as one that is fraught with dangers overcome along the way.

Completed a Mini Bucket List

 

This was a journey I shared with you. I set my goals here. And then I reported on them in order (one, two and three, four, five). Please read those it you missed them.

I'd say it's a pretty thing to be able to say that I accomplished that which I set out to do. Am I perfect at all of those things? Not really. I'm still human.

So, here's an update: I'd say I'm ready to take my exercise routine to the next level. The holiday season has left me wanting to do another Whole30 (surprise, surprise), I'm really not worried about my face any more. I've mastered makeup application more so you can hardly notice my blemished when I "have my face on". And I'm really ready to take on the Martha challenges now that my wall cleaning project is done and the holidays are over.

So life is going pretty good. Maybe I'll make another bucket list, but not as a series of resolutions at this time. Right now I'm choosing to focus on my blessings more than on short-comings that I think need improvement.

Don't get me wrong, self-improvement is great, but I think it should be more of an on-going personal journey that isn't dependent on what day of the year it is.

Now it's your turn. Take a moment to think on what was great for you in 2016. Maybe leave a comment if there's something you're really proud of that you'd like to share.

May 2017 bring you new hope, new possibilities, and new adventures!

Time to Try Minimalism: A Project 333 Experiment

As a Type 4, minimalism is something that is supposed to come naturally in theory. In practice, the habits and accumulations of life lead to stuff building up.

I've read the purging challenges of the Mary and Martha book. Sarah Mae doesn't go into any depth about purging your wardrobe, but I felt that was a natural place for me to begin anyway.

I've had thoughts of doing a capsule wardrobe percolating in the back of my mind for some time now, and so I have now begun. I've heard of the 10 Item Wardrobe, but my lifestyle doesn't match wanting to do laundry more than twice a week and my little bit of Type 1 balks at having so few options to rotate through. And as I've looked more at this system, it seems a little confusing to me to only have 10 core items and then extras. So I've settled on an extended version of the Project 333 format. Project 333 means going 3 months with only 33 items, including clothing, accessories, and outerwear. This seems easier than deciding what constitutes a core item or an extra. Project 333 kind of lumps things together and counts everything (except pajamas, workout clothes, and lounge wear, which are all the same for me). I've stretched it a tad. I may be closer to 40 items. I justify this by saying it's winter, so I have an extra coat to count and then I had a hard time narrowing down my jewelry choices.

In choosing my items I used the Vivienne Files All Seasons Packing format as a starting point keeping this post about color schemes in mind. I kept to a concise selection of black, white, cobalt, teal, and red. It's a beautiful thing really. I'm only a week into my 3 months, but I'm still having fun making different outfit combinations.

Here is my new closet and the color palette broken down.

 

So simple and so Type 4. I'm sure more refining will happen and there are some gaps I'd like to fill while keeping a "one in, one out" mindset. But already I'm loving how streamlined my outfit making has become. Dressing Your Truth got me to one level of clarity with keeping only one color family on hand, but Project 333 and pared it down even more.

I really like the Project 333 motto of "Be more with less". I'm hoping to carry that through more of my life in the coming months as I follow through on doing the Martha challenges.

Let me know what you think and Enjoy this holiday season!

Something is Different!

Happy Birthday to Me! In honor of my 25th birthday I made a big change.

I've actually been looking forward to this for about two years. That's about how long I've known about Dressing Your Truth. This is not a total coincidence. Part of having my own DYT course is having a personalized Fashion 101 class, basically. The Type 4 course provides guidelines for what will look best on my Type 4 body to match and express my Type 4 personality in a beautiful way.

These guidelines are actually quite thorough. Everything including clothing, makeup, accessories, and hair are seen in terms of design line, texture, fabrication, pattern, and color and many examples are shown. Now, all Types can have long or short hair. I've had long hair for most of my life. I've even cut and donated it a couple of times. But I'd never gone this short. After DYT, I had the confidence and knowledge to know that I really could do a pixie cut.

So two years ago, I decided that I wanted to give it a try when I turned 25.

Unfortunately, the place I went to get my hair done doesn't have WiFi (weird, I know), so I wasn't able to show them the Pintrest picture of the exact cut I wanted, so I'm not fully in love with the details of the cut that I got. Fortunately I am very familiar with the fact that hair grows and I can get it fixed in a couple of months. Here is the picture of what I really wanted:

Gorgeous, right? The cut, not the color. Sorry, but I don't think I'll ever go blonde. I did however also die my hair when I got it cut. I went darker to an ash-based brown a couple of shades darker than my natural brunette and I LOVE it!!

For such a big change, I've only gotten positive feedback. My babies didn't freak out. Charles didn't really care other than he was happy that I was happy. And everyone else has been really supportive as well. All the compliments are right on point with what I was going for.

The whole point behind changing my look was to turn up the dial on my Type 4-ness and the compliments I've gotten just prove that I got it right. Each Type has a list of great descriptive words and you'd think that people were just reading off my list. my favorites have been, "Chic" and "Stunning". Stunning is actually the "Beauty Code Word" for Type 4 as a whole.

Another reaction I got a lot at the beginning was remarks at how brave I was for going through with such a big change. I don't feel like "brave" is the right word. I feel that I've been "bold" (another T4 word). I think that is the power of the empowerment of the Dressing Your Truth program. They give you all the guidelines and then you are left to follow your (more informed) "Beauty Sixth Sense" in creating your own style.

I don't think you should have to be "brave" to live and dress your truth. That makes it sound that most people are in fact scared to do so. Admittedly, I know that without the DYT program most people are left to guess their truth in a world that doesn't give us great tools to navigate a trend-driven fashion industry. That's why I'm so passionate about sharing this "makeover system" that goes far beyond just the surface appearance.

Currently there is a very exciting sale going on. Until Nov. 22 the courses for all 4 courses are being sold as a bundle for only $100. What an investment! Please use my link to get registered and start learning what Type you are before you buy it so I can get some referral benefits. I'm here if you have any questions or if you want a closet makeover. I'm particularly gifted in being able to sort clothes by Type.

I want everyone to feel empowered to look amazing in their own special way.

Bucket List Report Items Two and Three: Food and Diet

In my bucket list post I had two food related items. I made it a goal to figure out planning lunches and snacks to get a better handle on my less-supervised eating. And then I wanted to complete a Whole30 diet.

I can't say I've had huge success in the lunch department. Of course we did just come off of our Whole30 and lunches were the hardest part of that too. I'm still great at dinners, comparatively. At this point I'm getting used to the idea of letting lunches be a little more repetitive where dinners can be more varied. Lunch is now a sandwich or leftovers.

As for snacking, the easy answer I learned during our Whole30 was don't. Simply put, I think our Whole30 was as effective as it was this time around because of cutting out snacking entirely. Or if we do get hungry between meals it's better not to turn to the easy, processed, snack foods. It's better to see a "snack" more as a mini meal so that you can make better food choices and be more satisfied with what you eat rather than just turning into a mind-less grazer. That is one lesson that really stuck with me from my nutrition classes in college: avoid mind-less eating where it's more about going through a motion rather than eating with intent to actually focus on enjoying what you put in your mouth. You end of eating less this way, but you are more satisfied.

Now, I failed to take any Before and After pictures of us for this round of Whole30-ness, but we wrote down our starting and ending weights and I also have my body composition numbers thanks to our smart scale.

I am pleased to announce that Charles lost 20 lbs and I lost about 13 lbs. But that's not all! Charles says that the only other change he noticed was that he just felt tired and hungry all the time. I didn't ever really get into a good "Tiger Blood" phase myself (more on that later) but my body composition numbers all settled into the healthy ranges where they hadn't really been before. Towards the end, my muscle mass actually squeaked into the High range. That is probably because of my exercise program. That right there is probably why they stress so hard the rule of not using the scale during the month; because there are other changes at work besides straight weight-loss. (Weight-loss isn't even a main focus of the Whole30 program at all; it's simply a pleasant side effect of the body healing itself.)

Confession: in truth I think we really only should get credit for half of a Whole30. We did a pure Whole18 before we "took a break" when we went out of town for a weekend to spend time with family. When we got back it was rather difficult to get back in the saddle. Part of it was because I was sick when we got home. After eating just about everything on the "no" list, it really isn't surprising to me. I'm just a little jealous that Charles' system is less sensitive than mine so he didn't get sick at all from our lapse. But that is why we didn't get any "Tiger Blood", because we didn't stay faithful to the program for the full amount of time so we did not reap the full benefits.

But we still lost weight, my face did finally clear up, and I'm very happy with my body composition numbers. So it was still worth it.

It seems that every time we do this diet, we get a little better at it. Last time we cheated on the snacking rule but stayed "true" for the whole time. This time we did lots better about not snacking but we cheated on the scale rule. It was fun to see the weight slough off, especially at the beginning. I was surprised how fast the weight came off at the beginning. So we actually exceeded my expectations in that regard. Next time I can hope we shall continue to improve.

My Top 5 Favorite Parenting Resources

Motherhood is hard. We are all agreed on this. But there are ways to make it a little easier. Tips to have at hand so we feel like we know what we are doing...at least some of the time.

When it's just me and the boys I can get plenty self-conscious about my parenting abilities, like anyone else, but then I occasionally go out in public and realize that it could be a lot worse.

I have several sources I turn to that help me feel like I have it together...most of the time, actually.

So, what I offer today are my secrets, or at least the sources of my secrets in the hope that it will help and inspire all you other wonderful mothers who have not discovered these wonderful books. It is my wish that you may find something here to help you be a better parent today.

 

1. The Happiest Baby on the Block by Dr. Harvey Karp

This is a great starting point, whether you are expecting your first or your last or simply have need of skills to soothe crying babies in what ever setting you may be in.

I read this book as a "textbook" for an Infants and Toddlers class I took in my last semester of BYU-I before I had a baby and graduated. I felt like a pro-Momma with this under my belt before Jon was born. We still had our learning curve when it came to breastfeeding and dealing with cloth diapers, but I could swaddle like a champ.

Dr. Karp's premise with this book is that human babies need a "fourth trimester". Other animal babies come out and walk and "talk" right away. Our babies get pushed out before their heads get too big, ideally. That certainly doesn't mean that they are ready to take on the big, wide world all at once. So, Dr. Karp introduces his "5S's" to simulate conditions from within in the womb to help soothe the baby when outside of the womb to help with the transition.

These work people. So much so that I had people wonder if my baby ever cried because it sure seemed like he never did out in public.

To be brief, the 5 S's are Swaddling, Side-lying, Shushing, Swinging, and Sucking. When I was using these "in the trenches", as it were, like trying to get a newborn to sleep when they have other ideas, I'd have them swaddled, laying on their side on my knees so I could lean over them and make ocean sounds right into their ear while my knees did the swinging, and they sucked on my thumb. (My babies preferred the taste of me over plastic, so we didn't really use binkies at all.) To be fair, this was still a test in patience because it may have still taken a good 15 minutes for them to really fall asleep, but (eventually) fall asleep they did.

2. The Happiest Toddler on the Block by Dr. Harvey Karp

It of course makes sense that when I saw this sequel at a book swap, I was sure to grab it. I just finished reading it, to be honest, but I use this everyday and more so on Sundays as a Nursery leader. (It's probably why I haven't been released yet.)

In here, Dr. Karp lovingly calls toddlers "cavemen" and explains that parents have to act as diplomats of the current century. This involves connecting with respect and using "Toddler-ese" to help prevent tantrums or lovingly stop them in their tracks.

My favorite tip was the "Fast Food Rule" (or FFR) for communicating with little ones. He calls it this to bring to mind how the person taking your order at a fast food restaurant repeats your order back to you before they tell you your total price.

The FFR has two parts: First, whoever is most upset (usually the toddler, but this works in "grown-up" situations as well) talks first; the other person listens, repeats back what they are told, and only then do they take their turn to talk. The second part uses "Toddler-ese", tone of voice, and mimicked emotion to hit the toddlers "sweet spot" to get their attention and let them know that you understand how they feel. That part is key because when a toddler is upset they are feeling more that thinking so just trying to be rational with them first is not going to work.

I still have troubles with playing up the emotional part of the FFR (thank my T4 for that) but using short, repetitive sentences (the Toddler-ese in a nutshell) with some reflected feeling really works.

Dr. Karp also mentions knowing your child's temperament and realizing you may have a personality mismatch and that does right into my favorite tools.

 

3. The Child Whisperer by Carol Tuttle 

Now, I'll be honest: I haven't fully read this book yet, but I already have a thorough working knowledge of Carol's Energy Profiling System through Dressing Your Truth. So I still feel like a "child whisperer" with what I have to go on.

Knowing the Types of my children has been such a blessing. I know Jon is a T2 so I know that when he gets upset he will probably cry and need hugs to calm down. If I didn't know David was a T1 our breastfeeding experience would have been more frustrating for me with how easily distracted he can be. As is, I feed him where it is quiet and just enjoy his smiles when he unlatches for a moment here or there because he wants to tell me he loves me with his eyes .

I look forward to using my knowledge with future children and I feel confident that I can handle all the Types in my children as they come around.

 

4. The Child Whisperer Podcast by Carol Tuttle

Until I do finish reading the book, I can gain more insight from Carol's podcast of the same name.

(Note: The link shows the podcast through iTunes but I'm pretty sure I've been able to kind it through other podcast listening apps.)

I enjoy listening to podcasts while I do household chores, and I'm up-to-date on all my other podcasts, so while I wait for new episodes I listen to Carol Tuttle.

With access to the full archive of her material, even from before it was The Child Whisperer Show, I've been able to get more of the nuanced flavors of the Types from Carol's content as well as when she takes live callers and answers their questions.


My favorite episodes so far (go through the above link) are "How to Parent True to Your Nature", "Is your perception of your children hurting them?", and "How do you measure your success as a parent?".

 

5. Dressing Your Truth by Carol Tuttle 

I find where Energy Profiling is concerned, it's a bit like the oxygen masks on an airplane: you put yours on first before you help whoever is near you. Meaning, it's a bit hard to parent true to your Type if you don't know your Type.

Knowing my Type and dressing my truth does make me a better mom because I feel better in my own skin. It goes with the saying of "If mom's not happy then no one's happy." Conversely, when mom's happy everyone is happier. Dressing my truth makes me a happier person because I know myself, I know my tendencies and how to manage them, and I know how to make the most of my personal gifts.

With this knowledge I am bien dans ma peau. This is a knowledge I feel that everyone should have. I truly believe this would make us happier as a people and (possibly) lead to world peace. Who knows? We can dream big.

World peace aside, I'd settle for happier families to start with.

I hope you find these resources as useful as I have in becoming a better parent.

Why am I Writing a Blog?

The short answer is I'm writing a blog because I want to.

The end. See you next week.

Ha! Like I'd leave it at that.

(Quick side note: Isn't it funny how things can just fall into your lap right when you need it? Like how I listen to a podcast that gave me the words I needed to really explain why I'm here.)

I've been binge-listening to the Freakonomics podcast, and the "Am I Boring You?" episode played while I was washing the dishes the other day. Two key phrases really resonated with me and my thoughts on blogging. These were "mental retirement" and "meta-cognition". These two phrases are the true base of my reasons for wanting to blog.

In the podcast they were talking about mental retirement in regards to when someone is old and no longer in the work force and how mental capacities diminish as they are less engaged, but I could make the argument that mental retirement, the way they described it, can just as easily be applied to stay-at-home moms who are no longer in the work force. We just usually joke about it in the context of losing brain cells due to pregnancy. I personally love that joke with the personal twist that I tell my babies that they had better be really smart since they stole my brain cells. Freakonomics cast a new light on this for me. It's really more like a "use it or lose it" scenario. I'll be the first to admit that I really have let my abilities fall by the wayside since having two under three. I hope to reengage my mind by writing.

The second phrase of meta-cognition is my other reason for blogging. Angela Duckworth described meta-cognition as being a tool of highly successful people that she had interview. To use her words:

Every successful person that I’ve ever interviewed — and I do a lot of interviewing of successful gold medalists and CEOs of Fortune 100 companies and so forth — every single one is extraordinarily meta-cognitive. By that I mean that they are able to reflect on their own emotions, their own thoughts and their own behaviors. They’re sort of able to step outside themselves and say, “Hmm, what am I doing? What just happened there? Is that something that I liked? Did I not like it? What can I do to kind of go back into the situation and do it differently next time?”

So, I'm hoping to use blogging as my method of meta-cognition. I doubt I'll get to Fortune 100 levels of success, but I'll be happy if I am able to make my mommy life more fulfilling in my own small (or large) ways.

To be honest, I'm feeling better already and this is only my first post. The gears are turning, the juices are flowing, and changes await in my future. Wish me luck!