The month of April is practically over, and I feel like it passed rather swiftly. I attribute that to being extremely busy at work along with commitments for both Andrew and me throughout the month. This post will be my only one for April. While it would seem quite disappointing to me that I only got around to writing one post this month, I am taking it as a win. And, I credit my 18 for 2018 list for feeling that way. I must publish at least one post per month throughout the year, and I have successfully been meeting that goal.
Setting goals and having aspirations are wonderful and fulfilling; however, we must remember that we will not always hit the mark and succeed which is perfectly fine. Sometimes, our goals take a bit longer to reach, and sometimes we have to abandon them due to unforeseen circumstances. Regardless, we cannot get too hung up on the outcome, but focus more on the journey towards the outcome.
For me, reaching my goals is all about the timing. I figured that the week after Easter, I would accomplish so much. After all, I had a week off, and Andrew was out of town. Nope! It did not happen the way that I planned. I did, however, get the ball rolling on a couple of items I planned to achieve. I wanted to update my LinkedIn account, so I met with my fabulous friend and future writing partner (keeping my fingers crossed) Michelle for lunch to get some advice and feedback on how to go about it. Well, I received valuable feedback, had a terrific lunch and even more terrific conversation; however, my LinkedIn account still looks exactly the way it did when I walked into that coffee shop. And, that’s fine. I know it will get done at some point this year.
I also figured that I would get a huge start on organizing my scrapbook paraphernalia for my annual trip which is at the end of May this year. Nope! Instead, I spent most of my week working on school related items. 
I had rough drafts, lesson plans, and graduation tasks to complete. I admit, I was disappointed because of everything that I wanted to do during the break, this was on the top of my list to accomplish. This would have been possible had I been able to take care of the school stuff the week before break. Unfortunately, the week before my break was pretty hectic. You win some, and you lose some. The silver lining is that I now plan to scrapbook Andrew’s trip to Ireland, Wales, and London. Furthermore, I will start organizing the materials next weekend.
Finally, I thought that particular week would be perfect to start the 2-Week Jump Start portion of my eating clean program. I created a form for my food journal for those two weeks to record the additions to my diet, as well as what I currently eat. Nope! I did fair the week I was off, but it fell by the wayside the week I returned to school. This was definitely the wrong season to start thinking about changing my eating habits. On the other hand, I succeeded with exercising and have been on a streak ever since my week off. I have been walking about an hour a day for five to six days a week, every week, since Easter. Walking has become a habit again, and I look forward to it. Now, if I could just manage to look forward to eating clean more consistently, the goal of eating clean may become easier.
Although I have had some ups and downs this month, and I have stalled a little with reaching a few of my goals, I am still optimistic and fired up about the remainder of the year. For once in a long time, I am truly excited about the goals that I have set for this year which is re-energizing me. Get ready for your week ahead, dear reader, with enthusiasm and focus on what is good in your life. Happiness!
“The unpredictability of life sucks. One minute you’re riding high with the wind whipping through your hair and the next minute you’re flat on your ass with a face
full of gravel.” ~ Alison G. Bailey, Present Perfect
Yesterday morning, my hubby and I brought Andrew to the airport, so he could embark on his journey to Ireland, Wales, and London. I will not see my baby again until April 7th. It will be an unusual week being home alone with just my fur babies. I guess it will give me a taste of what it will be like when Andrew goes off to college.
I realize that I am probably one of the last humans on the planet that waited so long to watch Stranger Things. In my defense, I do not have much time to watch television, and there are few shows that I watch alone in real time or with Andrew. He is just as busy during the school year as I am, so coordinating our schedules to watch a couple of hours of television together can be difficult. However, we manage to squeeze in some time here and there for our favorite shows. Andrew and I had finished watching Parks and Recreation during Mardi Gras break, so we decided to start watching Stranger Things. Many of my friends, family, acquaintances, and even some of my students encouraged me to watch it since they thought it would be a show that I would really enjoy. Boy, were they right. Stranger Things is SUPER awesome! I’m obsessed with it. I absolutely LOVE that it takes place in the 1980s. The show is basically about a group of geeky kids who meet an unusual girl with special abilities around the same time that one of their friends vanishes into a mysterious place that is home to a disturbing creature. It is like the X-Files meets the Goonies. The seasons are not very long, so we blew through both of them within a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, the next season does not come out until 2019. Alas, Andrew and I will just have to watch Beyond Stranger Things which delves into the secrets of the Stranger Things universe, specifically Season 2 and re-watch the two seasons prior to Season 3 premiering next year.![MC900432635[1]](https://katloyacano.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/mc9004326351.png?w=500)
Three weeks ago I assigned myself some action steps for improving my health that I wanted to complete by today. Unfortunately, I did not complete them all. I have been working quite a bit at school and helping Andrew get ready for his upcoming trip to Ireland. Instead of admonishing myself, I am praising myself for the steps that I did accomplish (week 1). After all, I do have until the end of the year to complete this goal.
Greetings! I have successfully tracked my time for another week even though the week was fraught with difficulties due to the unexpected snow that visited on Tuesday evening. Thankfully, my pipes and family survived the extremely cold temperatures. Needless to say, I have made some observations in my log that I would like to share with you; however, for this post I am only focusing on the most important one.
Except for today, which is not over yet, I tracked my time all week. As I mentioned in my last post, this week was an unusual week at work because the majority of my 8th graders were visiting Washington, D.C. Although my work schedule was very different, my morning routine was pretty consistent Monday through Friday. Weekend mornings are very different. My evening routine this week was consistent with how I spent my evenings; however, they were unusual in a sense because of my work schedule. So, what did I learn about how I spent my time this week? I made three observations from my time log which I am keeping in a small notebook.
In other news this week…I had a birthday on Thursday. I am officially 49 years old which means this year is my last year in my 40s. Despite having to work on my birthday, it was still wonderful. I received cards, texts, phone calls, emails, and Facebook messages from friends and family. My awesome team at school surprised me with sweet treats and a birthday card. My friend Terri who was chaperoning my students in Washington, D. C. face timed me, so they could sing me happy birthday. And, my hubby unexpectedly made it home that evening with take-out and a slice of birthday cheesecake. It was a simple yet satisfying day.
The Kat Files 