Joy! I Can Breathe Again!

We are almost through the semester! JOY! Most of the heavy work has been done and now I am just coasting through until summer session starts. The students have a week off, and while I still have to work, it's a light week. I'm looking forward to it. It is such a relief to ease back a bit.

April is such a busy time of year on a college campus and this year was no different. Add in the extra family stuff going on and I am just worn out! We've all been feeling a bit fragile. No one has been sick yet, but we're all run down and could use a break. So far, May has been a breath of fresh air. We are winding down with the kids' school activities as well, so we can focus on getting through testing and the other end of the year craziness!

It's the first week of the month and time for me to look back at my resolutions for the year and see how I am doing. I honestly couldn't tell you what all ten of those resolutions are right now, so I'm a little worried about my progress. However, I really enjoy this recap because it gives me the chance to recommit myself each month and stay on track.

The Good

I've been doing well with my walking goal. My step average has been at least 1,000 above my goal except for one week when I lost some data. I'm impressed that one week when I forgot to record a day, I still met my weekly goal!

I'm also keeping up with my monthly savings goal. I am 3/4 of the way to my yearly goal and the money comes out of my paycheck directly, so I am getting used to not spending it. Logging in to check my balance for this post filled me with joy. Especially since we are looking at buying a new truck for Ken. It's nice to know we have a buffer when that time comes.

The Bad

My weight has bounced up lately. I was sure it wasn't because there were days when I was too busy to get much lunch. Unfortunately, if I don't eat lunch, I eat a HUGE dinner and then some. I'm working to get that back on track. Especially because eating like that makes me feel sick and I don't like feeling that way.

Blogging-wise, I didn't get a VLOG in for April. I mostly just forgot. I also had a pretty full editorial calendar and I've learned that if I don't specifically block out these things, I won't be able to fit them in.

The Ugly

I have been able to pick up some books after giving them up for Lent. It was nice to get back to reading, but it's been mostly fiction again. I did read a non-fiction book about women in the Bible. I also read Lose the Cape for a blog review. Those are the only two non-fiction I've read this year, though, so now I'm two behind if I'm supposed to read one per month.

In blog-land, my page views have fallen off a bit. I've not been good about my promotion schedule, mostly because I've been mostly writing at the last minute. My goal is to get ahead of myself again so that I have more time for purposeful promotion. It seems that attention span in this business can be pretty fragile and if I fall behind with my own visits and comment responses, I notice a downturn in my own stats.

Have you checked back on your resolutions for the year? How are you doing?

I'm linking this one up for the #1Word Blog Challenge. This weeks' words are joy and fragile.You can find more details or link up here:

The Ridiculous Resolution Recap!

It's April Fools Day and I don't have any kids to prank! I hope my parents have tricked them with the traditional green milk at breakfast. I'm excited to hear all their stories when they get back tomorrow afternoon.

For today, though, it's time for a resolution recap. I like to take a moment each month to look back at my goals for the year and see what progress I'm making and what areas I need to work on. It's not really all that ridiculous, but I like the alliteration. And instead of the traditional "good, bad, and ugly," I thought I'd try "fantastic, unwise, and preposterous," as those are all synonyms of "foolish" in honor of today's holiday!

Christmas 2014

I'm having a hard time here getting back into the swing of things! I was ready to go back to work and the kids were ready to go back to school, but now being back, I feel like I don't know what to do. So I shall make a list and cross things off one at a time. And one of the things on my list is a recap from Christmas and New Year's this year.

I did some good sewing and made the kids and my niece some pajama pants. The fabric is some that Ken's mom had bought before she died and never used for anything. We found it at Thanksgiving in going through some of her things. I thought it would be nice for the kids to have a gift from Grams this year.

Frances got in on the act and made some matching pants for her doll. She did almost all of the work herself. I was very proud of her, but more importantly she was proud of herself!

 Henry couldn't choose between his Batman footie pajamas and the new ones I made him, so he word both. Cheese!

Christmas was nice. The kids didn't get up too early. We had enough time to open stockings and eat breakfast before we went to Mass. After Mass we opened gifts. The boys got some new Legos and Lego storage containers. Frances got a drawing book and really impressed me with her skills.

 After Christmas we spent a few days at my parents' house. Henry learned how to ride his bike with no training wheels. Two down and one to go! I teased my mom that since she had been the one to teach Frances and Henry, she might as well teach Ben too!

 We met up with some friends at the Children's Museum. It was warm, but not really warm enough for shorts. This is more my fault for neglecting the laundry while I was off! But I'm mostly caught up now, and Henry has enough pants for school. :)

 The kids got a fish tank for Christmas. It sits on Henry's dresser. We started out with just what you see below, but we've since added some decorations and four fish. Frances picked the first two, and Henry picked out two last night. Benjamin gets his two next Sunday. And I might sneak one in for me. It's a 10 gallon tank, so I don't want to overload it, but I think 6 or 7 fish will do just fine in there.

We had a nice fire for New Year's Eve.  Ken had to work, but the kids and I dined on junk food and binged on TV. They didn't make it until midnight, but neither did I. As is our tradition, I was asleep on the couch and Ken woke me for a kiss at midnight!

I hope you've survived the holiday break and are ready to be back in your regular routine today! Happy 2015 everyone!!