The lovely Sonja posed some more questions related to manifesting some self-care for 2019...here goes my answers!
How much relaxation/rest time do you need/want?
Ok so lets talk SLEEP to start off with. I really want to get more sleep in 2019!
In order to achieve this, I plan to set the intent of a weekly curfew. I have tried this previously and stuck to it sporadically, but I feel it is something that is ultra important for me to implement consistently. As ideal as a curfew of 10pm - 11pm would be, I am going to be realistic and say "lights out and electronics OFF" by midnight! Yes, ELECTRONICS included which means NO TV, eeekkk! Some of you are probably thinking "Whoa! Thats late!", and it is, however, it is much earlier than the usual 2am.
What am I doing up until 2am? I guess the biggest reason for this is my need to have everything in its place before stopping and resting, you know the washing up to date, the kids school clothes and lunches organised for the day ahead, a million and one other things that realistically can wait. Let's face it, if its not done before I go to bed the world isn't going to end right?
Another reason would be study! This one I am mentally having a little trouble navigating as working days really only means I have nights or weekends to do it and I like leaving my weekends free for my family. In saying that, I do plan on keeping my Tuesdays as NO WORK days, which means it could be a study day, however, I also want to keep it open to be able to help my sister if she needs it. Hmmm anyway, I know that having more sleep will assist with productivity so it is more a matter of utilising my time more effectively. Oh and as a side note, the past two years I have been up until midnight waiting for the results to be released. I really do not need to do this, they will still be there in the morning and considering I've waited 17 days already, whats one more!
*More Sleep: Sunday - Thursday curfew of Midnight. Lights out and all electronics off!
Now onto the relaxation/rest side of things. I want as much as I can possibly get and still be financially stable!
These school holdiays I feel as though I haven't scheduled myself enough of a proper work break and I am seriously feeling it! I have had, and do have more days off scheduled but its been sporadic eg. day off today, work again tomorrow and the next day before another couple of days off and so on and so forth. What I really need, what I want is to have a minimum of an entire week off work!
Why haven't I? As I listed in my 'release 2018' post, I have a tendency to put others before myself so not to let them down. As I had time off in July due to going Tasmania, and then time off again in August due to getting sick and recovering from my nose operation, I feel as though I would be letting down my clients if I had more time off again. Mind you, by not doing so it means that my family misses out on a family holiday. Oh golly, its always so hard to pleease everybody! I guess there is that fear also, that if I were to let people down they might get fed up and go elsewhere which could mean less financial stability. Anyway here is my plan...
*Scheduled Time Off Work: One week of each of the school holidays throughout the year, and two weeks of the summer school holidays. Also no work on public holidays!
Oooh something else I really feel I need/want IS a monthly 'lazy' stay in bed and do nothing but watch netflix day! Perhaps day two of my moontime would be the perfect day for this, afterall the Native Americans have a Moon Lodge for that very purpose!
*One lazy day per month!
What are your Health & Wellness Goals?
First and foremost I need to be prophylatic mascestomy operation and recovery ready by the end of this year! When the oncologist booked me in, she said that the waiting list was approximately 18 months, so I am estimating that the operation will be in May/June 2020. Mind you, in saying that I have my first appointment on Tuesday 15th January 2019, to get the ball rolling, so it could be earier!
So what exactly does this mean in relation to my health and wellness goals?
As much as I have made peace with my weight, in order to be considered 'healthy' enough for the operation, I NEED to lose weight! How much? Well, if we go by the BMI it says for my height of 172cm, I need to be between 53.5kgs and 71kg. Given that as of today I am 92.4kg, that means a minimum loss of 21.4kg. To be completely honest with you, I think the BMI weight is unrealistic. Yes I have been there before and so it is totally achieveable, but I also know that me, striving for such would be the complete opposite of 'healthy'. Perhaps I'm not giving myself enough credit not to go off the rails, but you know that saying 'once an addict, always an addict!", it was quoted for a reason! This is me being a realist!
So how much do I WANT to lose? Whilst I'm content where I am (so much so I wore a bikini to the beach last week because I liked it and quite honestly if someone didn't like what they saw then they could look the heck away!), I would probably feel more comfortable in some of my clothes and lets face it, be healthier around the 80 - 85kg mark. So, thats what? Hmmm, lets say 10kgs, and anything else is a bonus!
*To Loose 10 kilos!
It is all very well and good to state that I want to lose weight, but that alone won't make it happen!
Here's the plan:
Movement...
*Tuesday evenings - Bootscooting
*Thursday evenings - Water Dancing (aka Water Aerobics)
*Evening bike ride/walk Monday & Wednesday
*Gym training - I don't really have any exact goals for this one, to be completely honest I'm in a something is better than nothing frame of mind and so even if I manage to do a workout once per week, I would be happy with that. If I were to go gung-ho, a minimum of 3 workouts per week would be ideal.
Nutrition...
*Eat Clean
*No Skipping Meals
*Reduce/Eliminate processed sugar
Confession Time: For January 2019, this is not really high on my 'HAVE to do' radar. Come February however, when school goes back and life is back to what I consider normal routine, then that will change. In saying that though, it doesn't mean I am being a gluttonous sloth, it simply means I am in a 'relaxed mode'!
Actually thinking about it, I may be consuming food, but not a great deal is staying in...REMINDER TO SELF - Book a lapband appointment and double check it hasn't slipped! Might not be a bad idea to have some fluid taken out either!
On the wellness side of things my goals are:
*Meditate every morning and night
*Spend time daily doing stretching
*Consciously practice mindfulness...the art of being fully present in each moment that is 'now'.
*Continue my affirmations
*Book myself in for monthly massages/body work
*Read books that interest me...NOT text books
On the wellness side of things my goals are:
*Meditate every morning and night
*Spend time daily doing stretching
*Consciously practice mindfulness...the art of being fully present in each moment that is 'now'.
*Continue my affirmations
*Book myself in for monthly massages/body work
*Read books that interest me...NOT text books
Which relationships do you intend to devote more love, energy & quality time to?
The first answer IS and always will be MY FAMILY!
*Proper date night with my husband once every 3 months!
Whilst we get alone time together on a fortnightly basis when the boys are at their Dads, most of the time we end up pottering around the house/garden and/or lazying around doing not much of anything. As much as neither of us are huge socialites, I really think it would be nice to actually go out and make memories together...outside of the confines of our home!
I am ultra excited that on the 2nd of Feburary we are going to the wedding of Marks cousin and so we have organised a baby sitter (the boys Dad didn't want to 'babysit' them on his birthday weekend - seriously he's a total selfish wanker sometimes), and booked the Queen Spa Suite for the night - Oooh la la la!
*More quality time with the boys!
I'm not sure how the conversation started but on NYE Jazz came out with the fact that he had never riden a camel and that he wanted to...SO, the first family wishlist item for 2019 is Camel Riding! The whole 'IN EGYPT' part of the wish is something that may be a little trickier to manage LOL! Before THAT can happen I need to finalise my Australian Citizenship...so close, just need the money to do it AND then get all four of us passports, again it comes down to money!
I would also really love to take them to watch a musical theatre show, or live production of some sort - like a musical concert!
*Make more memories with my extended family!
It is so sad to think that weeks and months can fly by without us making the effort to catch up, before I know it the kids will be teenagers and I will have missed all the exciting stages of their lives - not to say teenagers aren't exciting LOL. Ideally I'd love to organise a monthly family dinner, but realistically every 2 months to just catch up and hang out with each other would be wonderful.
*Friendships - more catch ups!
This year I plan to make the effort to catch up with those friends I didn't manage to see in 2018. I always feel so bad that I say I would love to catch up, but then it doesn't happen. Admittedly, its a two way street but its time to actually show those people how much they really mean to me by making more of an effort and actually investing my time into nurturing the friendship. I know that with work, study and a once a month limitation (which is something else I need to work on viewing differently and perhaps even adding to this list. Mind you, until I know that the whole saga is completely over, self protection and preservation is paramount...cryptic I know, if you want to know what I'm talking about shoot me a message) it can be tricky to juggle it all.
Under the same heading, is nurturing the friendships that the boys have. It's great that they have a close circle of friends they see at school and one or two that come here regulary, but I would really love for them to have a close circle and an extended one.
Are there any talents/gifts/hobbies you want to develop?
*Learn to play the piano
*Spend more time playing the guitar and learning new songs
*Set up vegetable, herb and salad gardens
*Make some herbal therapeutic preparations eg. creams, ointments, syrups
Personal interests to explore?
*I'd really like to attend at least one linedancing social event.
Courses/classes you'd like to take?
*Line Dancing/Water Aerobics
*My main focus is completeing my third and final year of my Bachelors Degree in Complementary Medicine, however there are lots of other courses I would love to do eg. Medicinal Cannabis certificate course.
Any upgrades to your home/office?
*New bed...King Size
*Shuffle around the lounge room/sitting room, so that we can create one big gaming room for the boys rather than them taking up two spaces.
Any people in your life who you want to help?
*I want to increase my massage client base by 5 - 10 people this year (regular and rotating).
*I will continue to help fellow uni students, as we are all working towards the same goal of completing the degree.
*I think it goes without saying that I want to help those that I love and care about in anyway that I can.
Any charities to support?
*Young Pink Sisters - A non for profit charity organisation that raises money for young women with breast cancer in Australia (diagnosed under the age of 50 and Australian citizens) to help pay for their medical treatment and associated costs.
