monday

September, All is not at a Loss! Goalsetters, Get Ready!

September, the beginning of fall, where will it take thee’, where can I go…?

September is the fourth to the last month of the year. The ninth month of the year, we still have time. Time is still on our side, if we get busy now.

What goals did you have for 2022? We can still amp it up a bit and get good results. Take time to consider what you thought was important. Are those things still important? Here are a few to improve all aspects of life.

We still have four Fridays and Four Sundays. No, we really only have three Saturdays. Confounding really! This is Monday, September 5th, 2022.

We can put our time to good use. Here are twenty things we can do in September that will help make the next few months go smoother. Make life more enjoyable. We can improve family life and become more satisfied if we just try a few of these or all of them. I would love to hear if someone tries them all consistently til end of the year. Is anyone willing to try all twenty? Yea!!! We can do this!

1. Any outside special cleanup and repairs for our home, property And vehicles. You can make that punch list. Weatherizing before cooler weather. Mulching, glazing, window washing, pressure washing, minor repairs or major. Getting them done will just feel good. It is cool enough to paint the house or trip to improve overall look of the place.

2. Maintenance to lawnmower, bicycles, other equipment. Wash, pump up tires, check the belts, chains, and fluids.

3. Put a check mark on our calendar each day when we get a 20 min or better walk or workout done. A smiley face if you like.


4. Weigh once a week like Tuesday and put that number on your monthly calendar each week. A record to reflect on helps quarterly, or sooner if need be.


5. Plan a trip, a short close by one for a long weekend. Or visit local zoos and museums.

6. Plan a couple Fridays or Mondays off to get some big domestic projects done over a long weekend.

7. Consider a totally new hairstyle, a new refreshing look. Do we still look like we did ten years ago? Can we grow our hair longer or cut it shorter? Go to a stylist and get some professional input. Just nothing high maintenance please. If your hair is already high maintenance can we simplify things and stop doing something that makes it high maintenance? Keep it nice, just try something new.


8. Is there something you can tweak about your diet that could help you feel an look better? A small thing. Cut down on the soda, or increase the water. Have smaller meals and include at least one or two veggie salads per day.


9. A reading goal, read some poetry or even the Bible five minutes a day. Something refreshing each day.

10. Call family weekly, you know the family that you rarely talk to, and you never hear from them. Just call! Say hi! It has been a tough couple years for everyone. Sorry for my neglect., what is going on with you? How is everyone holding up? Then listen. Express care and concern.

11. Time to pull out a hobby or craft, how about finishing that one you started a few years ago. I like doing little quicker projects while I have a bigger project. Keeps it mixed up so I don’t get bored. I do get bored, jump around, get nothing done. You should see all my wonderful drafts of articles I have written and not published. Boo Haw! I will! I really will honor them and finish them.

12. A basketball, tennis ball, or football? Take your pick, they can do nothing without you. Oh, really has it been years…it is not the balls fault. Your not crawling yet. Get busy with it, get active.


13. New recipes please, the food has gotten boring. I will elaborate in a different article. Challenge: Use a real cookbook you own and find a couple recipes to enjoy making.

14. Clean the car, go get it detailed unless your good at detailing it yourself. I am not good at detailing let alone anything else other than keeping gas in the car sometimes. I do respect those w clean cars. Maybe my self respect will improve as I improve. Imagine that equivalent to self esteem. Good decisions, good actions, good results, good esteem.

15. Look at the body, yea, the one in the mirror. Take measurements quarterly and keep track of improvements and the need to improve. I lost 8 inches just w tiny little exercises since last September with no weightloss. Amazing! Don’t obsess! Just do toning exercises. Weightloss, another subject as I have a lot to lose. Always trying, never denying, and one will never lose. Made up by me just now. Some of us could afford to deny less or more.

16. Driving, how is your driving? Do you speed, do you get impatient? Do you get up close to the vehicle in front of you? Do you mess with your phone while driving? We know what we do, distracted driving and accidents are real. Aggressive driving is happening all around us, we do not have an excuse even if the other driver is inconsiderate and rude. We are responsible for what we do. Tickets, accidents, all cost money and time. Keep a good record and you will feel blessed.

17. Gifts anyone? Whom doesn’t like a gift? A gift is nice to give or recieve especially without expectation. A loved one we reside with, can we pick up something not expensive yet meaningful they may like? Or, the gift of time, have they been nagging we get something done that we just almost refuse to do, just do it with a smile and love to bless them and yourself. Don’t make them ask again. They will appreciate what you do even more! Can you arrange with them a long lunch and meet for a light lunch or a coffee? How much does eye contact and a smile cost? Can we try to stop a moment each day and look at each member while they are talking, really see them, really hear them and w a thoughtful response of positivity to validate their concerns or expressions.

18. Board games anyone? I am game, I really love playing cards or a board game w my favorite people. You know whom you are. No phones at table it is rude! Relax, have fun together.


19. It is still early enough in season if you like to go boating or camping or kyacking. It is fun! I do not do those things but my friends whom do are always happy they plan the time.

20. The final Big One! Mathew 5:3 say Happy is the one concerned w their spiritual needs. Include time to Pray to the most High at Psalms 83:18 about all these matters to improve your life in all ways. He really will help you. As you know principles are the backbone of structure. Nothing good can stand without it. As we learn his principles and apply them in daily life we will see the good results.

This is September, we have 17 weeks until the end of the years. Let us finish strong and achieving much so we can gain the esteem that comes with good results. Good results come from consistent efforts.

We can Do It! Finish Well, improve our health, wealth, family life, friendships, environment, spiritual health and esteem. Joy will come, satisfaction will be our gift.


Your Author, Gina Rydin from Fat fit an Fab . Com

fatfitanfab.com

Monday, Why I love Mondays.

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MONDAY, MY FAVORITE DAY!!!

Monday is a day many dread.  It seems to some all falls onto their head on a Monday.  Being overwhelmed, the day can be unproductive, stressful, depressing, and it does not have to be this way.

About ten years ago I met a refreshing person whose name is Annemarie.  A perky blond whom looked like Meg Ryan.  I invited her to do something with me for the upcoming Monday and she said no, any day but Monday.  I asked her why not Monday.  She told me that was her day for herself.  She used Monday to get rest, to clean, do the laundry, to do gardening and lay in the sun.  I was so impressed that I have reserved Monday ever since.

A DAY OFF: If you have a choice in the matter.  If you can afford to work four days instead of five, why not take Monday off from your employment.  Many take Friday off by choice viewing it as a vacation day.  Yet, Monday may be an even better day to take off instead of Friday because it may be more fulfilling.  Everyone else in household is back to work and school.  Do not view your day as a day to Care Less or be carefree.  By carefully considering how you will spend your time on this special day, your life can take a change for the better.

Monday at home could mean an extra hour of needed sleep, getting in a relaxing walk, a trip to the library or museum by yourself, meeting a friend for lunch, doing your bills, or yard work.  For balance in my life, getting chores done in the form of a quick clean makes a difference for the whole week.  I do not mean a slave day, more like a day of time blocks adhered to.  Having attention deficit, time blocks help me to focus without the temptation to multitask.  If I multitask then my mind is unaccountable and takes flight.  The day is gone.  This can still happen to me when I feel weak due to health problems. Yet, I strive to do as much as I can on Monday because for me it is a sanity keeper.

A time block for extra rest like sleeping in an extra hour, and an hour break in the middle of the day.  A block for phone calls, A block for laundry which during that time while washing and drying are going on I can clean the bathrooms and or phone calls.  A Block for quick clean which is 12 minutes per room.  (my quick clean is ten minutes to do a quick pick up, gather what does not belong in the room including trash and set at doorway, wipe surfaces quickly, then timer goes off and I quickly sweep or vacuum. Then on to next room and set timer for ten minutes).  (The Slob Sisters have a great book about this and The Fly Lady, for years I read and reread. They helped me so much.  It seems so hard for me to read anymore books yet I will never forget that their programs are fantastic).  Then I run and put doorway items away as fast as possible.  Time for a break when all done.  A block for yard work or errands.  The blocks can be minutes long or a couple of hours long.  Use the timer.  If the timer goes off before your done then one must determine if another day of a few minutes will make a difference or if a few minutes now will make a big difference.  This is not the day to get caught up in trying to get each room done as a perfectionist would.  Each week of this activity will make a few weeks worth of efforts a visible accomplishment.

I like Monday because if I get my Monday work done, the whole week is much smoother.

What I like to do on Mondays.  First, I sleep in as long as I need to, with chronic health problems a lack of sleep contributes to my flare-ups.  Secondly, I start the laundry  and make my phone calls.  I do a deeper clean up in the kitchen.  Monday happens to be my deeper clean kitchen day.  While wash is going I clean my bathrooms.   A quick pick-up and sweep-up through the house remedies the mess the weekends create. I wash towels every Monday, and if possible I may get a jump ahead by doing them on Sunday night.

Setting up my schedule for the week on Sunday night helps me to know what phone calls are vital for me to make.  Doing my phone calls by 11:00a.m. really takes the pressure off the rest of the day.  Over the week, I pay attention to whose anniversary, graduation, or achievement has come about that I can on Sunday nights or Monday write out these cards and send them.  My husband seems to enjoy running errands, and I like being home on Monday.  Emotionally, I really like being home on Monday because life seems so busy on the weekends, the downtime to get things done is precious.  I rarely accept an invitation to leave my house on a Monday.  Hanging my clothes out to dry is another thing I have done for decades and I like to do if the weather permits.  Cooking a good meal and doing a little meal prep to make the next couple dinners for the week easier is important.  Eating a little lighter during the day helps me to maintain my focus and lessen the burden on my internals.  A walk or isometric exercises refreshes me.

At 1:30 pm. on Monday is a PBS station sewing show called Sew it All.   I like to stop and enjoy this show and put my legs up.  It is only a half hour and because I enjoy sewing it is a treat to watch.  On Wednesday, Sew Easy comes on, I will tape it to watch later.  If sewing or painting or something else is your interest, give yourself  a 90 minutes time block to work on a project, and then that evening your free to get back to it if you can.

Filling my Monday with practical efficient activities sets up my week  for greater productivity and less stress.  Whether it is every Monday or only a once a month Monday, having this day to catch up on domestics, relaxing activities, yard work, gardening, and phone calls makes for a better start to the week.  It also is important to avoid time wasters on this day.  Unless the errands are vital for the week to go smooth try to keep most of the day to yourself at home.  Beware of Time Wasters such as gabbing on the phone, texting, internet cruising, or television watching.  This day is a day for yourself to reset and restore.  With an extra hour of rest, getting a home in order, car cleaned, laundry done, gardening, essential phone calls and bill paying your investing in a more peaceful life.  The week and month will go smoother.  The evening of Monday is a good time to be refreshed by going to bed early for an extra hour of rest before resuming regular activities on Tuesday.  Monday’s never get me … .