(Not So) Extreme Makeover: Me Edition -- Week 9 (do over!)

So before I get to this week's regular post, I want to take a minute to thank my friend Julie at The Surrendered Scribe for passing on the Sisterhood Award to this blog. Isn't this just the cutest bloggy award button? This award is for blogs that display an "attitude of gratitude" and I'm honored that Julie included me on her list of blogs who do this. In turn, I would like to pass it on to any of you who are reading these weekly Makeover posts and especially to those who are taking steps to make themselves over. Go ahead, grab the pretty picture below -- this award is for you!

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I now return you to your regularly scheduled blog update....

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Last week, I was on a cruise. It was FAB-U-LOUS! I spent 4 nights and 5 days doing nothing but relaxing (read: eating, drinking, napping, drinking, sunbathing, eating, drinking, parasailing, eating, shopping, drinking, sunbathing) with my little sister, Sarah. I missed my kids but I didn't realize until the 2nd or 3rd day of the cruise just how much I needed a few good days of R&R. I've had a lot going on lately and it was the perfect little break. Mad props (I've always wanted to say that!) to my amazing husband, who booked the entire thing as a surprise for my sister and me!!

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I had grand plans for my vacation but didn't do much... see my definition of "relaxing" in the paragraph above. So, I'm calling this a Week 9 "do over" since I don't think last week really counted!
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1. Find and read a book to better myself. I did take The Shack with me on the cruise and on 2 separate occassions, I did open the book. I think I read a total of 3 pages. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't love the book... I just didn't want to work my brain hard enough to actually read the book. This one isn't done yet!

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2. Have pretty nails. I posted a few weeks ago that I was looking for a "nail product" to help strengthen my nails. My sister-in-law, Cathy, sent me a bottle of Nailtiques and it's wonderful! So, I made sure to put on a new coat every day on the cruise and since I've been back. My nails are looking good and feeling stronger, though I'm not crossing this one off until I work myself up to actual nail polish. My husband will be away this weekend so I'm sure the girls and I will give each other mani/pedis while he's gone... so maybe by next week I'll be ready to call this one complete.

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3. Simplify. From the outside it probably looks like I haven't made much (any?) progress in this area, but there are some ideas taking shape in my head that I'm really excited about. From a "simplify stuff" perspective, my older daughter and I will start tackling this one this weekend. She wants to make a "science lab" in her bedroom (not sure what that means to a 5-year-old, I'm a bit afraid!) and has asked me to help her clean out some of her old toys, books and clothes to make room for said science lab. So, this weekend we'll start sorting and purging and packing away things. From a "simplify my life" perspective, I'm still working through some ideas which I hope to have in a "ready for publication" state within the next few weeks. But, just thinking through things in my head has helped me a lot, so I'm feeling pretty good that I'm at least facing the right direction on this one, even if I haven't actually started moving yet.

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Still going strong with:

Better skin care

Drink more water

Grump less

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What are you working on this week? Whatever it is, YOU CAN DO IT! Leave a comment so we can encourage you as you go!

(Not So) Extreme Makeover: Me Edition -- Week 9

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Gotta love the "post ahead" feature on Blogger, eh? So I've written this post in advance since right now, I am sailing around in the Caribbean. Hopefully by now I've been parasailing, enjoyed tons of food, see some great shows, lounged on some beaches and had more than my share of fruity frozen drinks. Hopefully I've found plenty of time to finish reading The Shack and my nails still look nice and I haven't bought an excess of souvenirs that completely set me back on the "simplify" goal.

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So, since I'm not willing to pay for internet access during the cruise (isn't the point of the cruise to not have internet and cell phone access?) you won't know until next week how Week 9 really went for me, but I hope it's going great for you!

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Leave me a comment on what you're working on this week so I can catch up on the "real world" when I get back from the big boat :-)

(Not So) Extreme Makeover: Me Edition -- Week 8

So how's your Week 8 shaping up? Nothing new on my list this week but still feeling pretty good!

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1. Find and read a book to better myself. It's been a busy time at work and we had guests all weekend so I didn't get much more reading done on The Shack, but my sister and I are going on a cruise next week (can we say "CAN'T WAIT!!!" and "SO EXCITED!!!"), so I will surely finish this book while lounging on the sunny beaches of Coco Cay. It's been such a great read so far, I can't wait to see how it ends!
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2. Have pretty nails. As I admitted last week, I pretty much stole this one from Julie. It's been about 3 weeks and they're finally starting to look like fingernails! Hoping to work myself up to some polish this weekend. Fingers (and nails!) crossed that they last at least long enough for formal night on the cruise. (Oh, did I mention "CAN'T WAIT!!!" and "SO EXCITED!!!"?)

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3. Simplify. OK, so it turns out that Luanne is actually not helping on this one, though my girls and I thank her from the bottom of our hearts for the sixteen pound box of Disney treasures she sent to us last week. I'm still not clear on what this goal will mean for me, but I've had a lot going on at work lately that is starting to come to a resolution, so hoping that will get me heading in the right direction soon. THEN I'll start working on simplifying "stuff."
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Still going strong with:
Better skin care
Drink more water
Grump less -- still a daily battle but I think I'm finally winning it!
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What are you working on this week? Whatever it is, you can do it! Leave a comment so we can encourage you as you go

(Not So) Extreme Makeover: Me Edition -- Week 7

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Week 7 already, I can't believe it! This week, albeit a crazy one, I feel "accomplished" enough in two items to move them off the list and add new things instead. Feels good!

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1. Find and read a book to better myself. I'm about half way through the book The Shack, which my friend Brenda sent to me. I don't have a lot of time to read but when I find a few free moments, it's almost painful to put the book down. I'm not really sure where it's going, but what I've read so far has made me think. A lot. I love it! My original plan for "a book to better myself" was more along the lines of "how to get organized" or "how to stress less." But I think The Shack is a far better "bettering" of myself than I could have chosen on my own.

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2. Have pretty nails. I pretty much stole this one from Julie, but I'm hoping we can encourage each other. I have always had brittle nails and they break easily, so I never stopped myself from picking at them because, well, they were just going to break anyway. I had acrylics for many, many years and they were gorgeous. Of course, they cost money and more important, time. I stopped getting them done (professionally) around Christmas time and a few weeks ago the damaged part had finally grown off so I decided to let them grow on their own. They're looking OK so far. Now, to find some kind of clear coat / strengthener that will make them less likely to break. Anyone have ideas?

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3. Simplify. Might as well have written "achieve world peace" there. This is big, ambiguous and on some days, seems unachievable. However, I've been watching my friend Luanne go through a purge process with her stuff, getting rid of 100 "somethings" each month so far in 2009. I'm not sure that "100 somethings" is the way I'll end up going but I like the idea of taking small steps to simplify -- be it by eliminating stuff or unnecessary responsibilities or something else. We'll see where this takes me but it's time to begin beginning the process.

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Still going strong with:

Better skin care

Drink more water

Grump less -- still a daily battle but I think I'm finally winning it!

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What are you working on this week? Whatever it is, you can do it! Leave a comment so we can encourage you as you go!

(Not So) Extreme Makeover: Me Edition -- Week 6

How does that expression go? A day late and a dollar short? Back to my regularly scheduled Wednesday update next week but in the meantime... here are the updates on the 3 items I've been working on:

1. Drink more water. I think I'm actually, finally making progress on this one! For several weeks now I've been limiting myself to only my morning coffee and one soda per day. Everything else is water. I am still far short of the "recommended daily allowance" of my H20 but still, it's a lot more water than I was drinking before I started this. If I keep this up one more week, I may actually move it to the "accomplished and still going strong" list. Yay!

2. Grump less. I've been working really, really hard on this. I think my original goal was to be happy and chipper and positive all the time. What I've realized is that's not possible... that's not life. That realization alone has done wonders for me. Dare I say this may also move to the "accomplished and still going strong" list by next week?!?

3. Find and read a book to better myself. My friend Brenda sent me a great package of goodies, including a book called The Shack. It sounds really good and she told she's shared it with others who loved it as much as she did. I can't wait to start reading it! Here's a description, from Amazon.com:

Mackenzie Allen Philips' youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later in the midst of his Great Sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend. Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change Mack's world forever. In a world where religion seems to grow increasingly irrelevant "The Shack" wrestles with the timeless question, "Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain?" The answers Mack gets will astound you and perhaps transform you as much as it did him.

Still going strong with:
Better skin care

Looks like I will need 2 more things for my list next week... I think I'm going to follow Julie's lead on her item #3 (which I've actually been working on since I saw it on her list last week). Let's see what else I can come up with...

What are you working on this week? Whatever it is, you can do it! Leave a comment so we can encourage you as you go!