- Stephany sent me (weeks ago!) a lovely holiday package with a CAT BUTT(!!!) puzzle, cat tea towel, microfiber hair drying towel, and 5 year one-line-a-day journal. Thank you so much for the thoughtful gifts, Stephany! I was thinking about buying a one-line-a-day-journal so it was the perfect gift. Stephany had talked about hers, and it sounds like such a cool exercise. I just started mine on January 1st.
- I woke up January 1st with the cold Steven had at the end of the year. I had planned to start 2024 off with a run, but I went on an easy walk with Steven instead, then took Tuesday completely off (and took the day off from work and rested all day). I’m proud of myself for not forcing exercise when I don’t feel well. That was my MO in the past, but I actually listen to my body now!
When I took my glove off to take this photo it pulled on a friendship bracelet sent to me by a friend from the Netherlands and broke it. Normally, something like this would really upset me, but I was able to save the word she put on it (” ‘HAPPY’ ” because that is how people feel when they are around you” she said) and half the beads and wasn’t upset. Look at me, not getting upset about a small thing. Go Kim!
- I was sad to miss Tuesday’s strength class and happy that I felt well enough to go yesterday. Two friends there asked where I was Monday – there wasn’t class on Monday, but there was a Polar Bear Plunge into Lake Michigan that I never planned on doing but thought about going to watch. It felt really nice that friends from the gym were all “where were you?!” (I told them I was sick and they joked that maybe the cold lake would make me feel better, ha! Doubtful.)
- Not to keep going on and on about having a cold, but does anyone feel like their colds are different after having COVID-19? For example, pre COVID-19, my colds followed a pattern of sore throat, dry cough, productive cough, then phlegm for a week+. Now my colds go much faster and they’re mostly just my eye and nose leaking, and then a dry cough that sometimes becomes a productive cough.
- My right shoulder has been a bit sore since the week of December 11th so I have been going light with weight. All that to say, guess what it being sore perfectly aligns with? Me starting to use this mug (with my right hand) that weighs 3 lbs 6 oz with water in it! Ha! Probably not any real correlation but I thought that was a funny coincidence.
I just started my THIRD five-year line-a-day journal on Monday and it was so exciting. A fresh start! No weird stains that you sort of wonder about in a don’t-think-too-hard-about-it way! I am writing something that makes me happy in it every day, along with something new I learned or did. I am currently quite excited about this exercise, but we’ll see how it goes as the years progress.
Oh cool! Your third as in you’ve done this exercise twice before? Did you recap your day more before and now are moving to happy and something new? I love the direction you’re taking this journal!
Eek! God bless anyone who wants to do a polar bear challenge but it sounds so awful. I haven’t had a cold since getting COVID last year (thank you WFH!) but if the symptoms are going to decrease then I am here for it.
It does to me too!
I hope the symptoms decrease for you too! Did you have a pretty standard cold before?
This is funny bc my coworkers and I were talking about polar bear plunges during a team meeting today. I would actually really LOVE to do one! (But I was the only one in the group who expressed that sentiment LOL)
Oh funny! Are there any near you?
Oh, a 5-year once sentence a day journal. You know what? I think I have one of those but never started it. Maybe I should get that out?
Oh yes! If you think you’d enjoy it!
I hope you enjoy your line-a-day journal! I just started year 3 of mine and it’s so fun to look back on what I was thinking/doing one and two years ago! It was SUPER helpful at the end of last year to see what a better place my mental health is in!
I AM SO PROUD OF YOU FOR RESTING. That’s what your body needed!
I am! At first I was trying to recap my day then quit that quickly and now am doing a thought or event from the day. Like yesterday’s was HOW AM I STILL DEALING WITH XYZ ISSUE AT WORK and that I booked my tickets to Denver for next month.
I love that yours showed you how much better your mental health is.
Thank you! I am really focusing on it! I am paying a lot of attention to my body battery score on Garmin. As much as I joke about my Garmin being mean to me, tracking my sleep and body battery is really insightful.
Wow, I’m impressed with your ability to back off when your body told you to. I wish I had that capability! (I view it as a kind of superpower – we are all so used to just, well, powering through, that to admit and acknowledge that a shift is needed is really, really hard…at least for me!)
I don’t use a one-line-a-day journal, but every night I write a (short) entry in an app and “tag” it with categories I created (e.g., work, family, etc.). It functions in much the same way, as I can look back at last year’s post to see what was going on then. 😀 I hope you love your journal the way Engie does hers!
Thank you! I am trying so hard to listen to my body and I see the payoff from it! It’s hard at first but then you remember how much better it made you feel in the long run.
Oh cool@ What app is that? That’s neat!
It’s the Reflection app. You can find it in the App store but also here: https://web.reflection.app/. The free version is pretty nice! I’m a beta tester/subscriber, but I’ve also used it for YEARS. 🙂
Thank you!