Baby G moments: 1/26/16

Baby G just finished her first week of daycare and has her first "daycare cold". We have been scrambling to figure out logistics and backup care and alternating time off. Meanwhile we are just trying to make our girl comfortable and nurse her back to health. It's hard seeing our usually good natured, happy baby in so much misery. Just trying to hold myself together and be the best mom I can be for her.

"The Happiness Project", Or Why I'm trying not to overdo it

I started reading the book The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, who is essentially the person who inspired my blog, and it basically chronicles a year in Gretchen's life as she actively pursues happiness.. The book has been out for awhile and I'm only just getting to read it now. It's been on my to-read list since it came out but ever since I started listening to the Happier podcast and following Gretchen on Twitter and Facebook, I finally decided I needed to take it off the to-read list and dive in.

As I'm reading it, I'm trying very hard not to jump on board and start up my own happiness project. Gretchen covers so many arenas of life that I personally would like to focus on and work toward a happier mindset about. She tackles decluttering, working on her marriage, being more playful, and even rethinking how she looks at money. (I'm only halfway through so there are more topics that I haven't read about yet.)

But I won't do that. I won't start a happiness project.

I can tell right away that there'd be a lot of initial legwork before I could start. There's some soul searching required before jumping in. I'd have to be mentally and emotionally focused on the project for however long I intended to work on it. I'm simply not ready for that (yet).

Right now, I'm content to focus on my one word two words for the year. In fact, I had a burst of activity today regarding simplifying. One of Gretchen's tips is the "one minute" rule. If it takes you a matter of minutes to handle something, just do it right then and don't let it pile up later. Well, I decided to tackle of of the "one minute" tasks that I let pile up.

I filed away papers - which for months seemed like a daunting task and the papers kept piling up. When I finally put them away, it took me 15 minutes tops. I don't know what I was waiting for!

I organized a small part of our kitchen pantry that was mostly storage for random kitchen items. There were things on shelves that I knew I wanted on different shelves, some things that I needed to get rid of, and some things I wanted to actually use. So I finally took the time to move some casserole dishes out of the way, I decided to sell a picnic basket we never use, and I grabbed a bunch of canned items to make soup. That took me maybe 20 to 30 minutes to tackle.

Finally, I'm planning to go through my collection of recipes that I've printed out or ripped from magazines. I'm going to look them up online and if I can find them, I will pin them to my Pinterest boards, since that's where I usually go to look for food ideas and cooking inspiration anyway. Plus I'm sure there are recipes that I once was ambitious enough to think I'd try, but in all honesty, nowadays I need recipes that are quick and easy and simple - but delicious!

It's seriously embarrassing to find out that something you've put off for so long and dreaded so much took no time at all to accomplish. That to-do list that kept growing and getting more daunting could've been tamed so easily, so long ago!

But I won't take away from my minor triumphs! I got things done and the house is a little bit tidier. All is well in the G household!

Writing the next chapter of life

Our family is undergoing a bittersweet life change right now. Our nanny of the past year just finished her time with us and our daughter will be starting daycare soon. With this transition period comes a lot of conflicting emotions. We're grateful for the love and care our wonderful nanny provided our daughter, and we're nervous about the change to our daughter's routine that will come with daycare. We can't believe how the time has gone by so quick and yet it felt like a huge period in our lives.

So you may wonder, how does this all factor into my words for the year? Well, thanks for asking.

One big bonus that will come from having our daughter in a daycare is that we will be able to reclaim our house (well, to an extent). There is a certain level of underlying and ongoing energy that exists when you have a nanny come every weekday. You never really get to let your house settle. You don't get to put things away just where you want them. Objects never find a home. There is a kind of life you want your nanny to be able to provide your child, and convenience plays a big part of how you manage your house. It doesn't die down after the nanny leaves for the day. Weekends don't bring any order that you might crave. It feels like life is on simmer and you just want to turn the stove off.

(Note: by no means was our nanny messy, but when she had to use the same stuff everyday, it was easier to leave things out than put it away and make her find it all every time.)

So I'm taking this opportunity to use this transition period to get the house back in order. Obviously, simplifying will play a huge part in that. There's lots of baby items that are no longer used or no longer useful. I'll be looking through these things and figuring out what I can sell or donate or need to trash. I'll also be looking into getting rid of our own things too. We have held onto some items for too long and I can't help but think "if I were moving tomorrow, would I pack this?" when I look at some of these items. It is time to clear this stuff out!

I'm so ready for this chance to clear the clutter, to organize our possessions, and to put our home back in order. I have always felt a real sense of relief and calm when my physical surroundings are tidy and clean and pretty. No matter how hard we tried to keep up with the chores, it wasn't enough, at least not as long as we had the nanny come everyday to watch our daughter. Now is my chance to get back into my domestic goddess mode and reclaim my home.

Simplify, simplify, simplify!

Second Sunday: January - Girls' Night Out

Yesterday was the second Sunday of January and my inaugural "Second Sunday" of connecting with the people I care about and don't get to see enough of.

I had a lovely dinner out with girlfriends at Little Goat Diner here in Chicago. Some were mutual friends who hadn't seen each other in awhile. Some were meeting each other for the first time. All got along and seemed to have fun, which was what I was hoping for!

It was COLD out last night, something ridiculous like 8 degrees F. I needed something to warm my belly so I had a yummy cup of hot chocolate and I ordered the delicious grilled cheese and split a side of brussel sprouts with one of my friends.

Side note: If anyone ever eats at Little Goat or Girl and the Goat (both owned by Stephanie Izard of Top Chef fame), please get the brussel sprouts at LG or the broccoli at G&G. Both are dressed with the most phenomenal fish sauce vinaigrette. Seriously. You can thank me later.

We talked about everything! Weddings, babies, bachelorette parties, Vegas, Britney (bitch), and there was even a little geeky conversation about IT work. It was great to see friends and even greater that they were enjoying themselves.

This was the perfect kickoff to my goal this year. Now... what to do next month?!

Happy New Year 2016!!!

This is it! January 1st. I'm stepping up to the challenges I set for myself and I'm going to make 2016 a good year. I'm very excited to start a new year with a new mindset and a clean slate.

I'm going to simplify things in my life so that I'm not bogged down by clutter and complications.

I'm going to connect with my family and friends more so that I can build up my relationships and strengthen my ties.

I'm going to take one photo everyday as a way to create a visual journal of my life.

I'm going to blog (right here!) about my journey to keep myself accountable and to have an outlet for my thoughts and feelings.

I want to focus on living the best life I can live and shake off the negativity in my life so that only the good stuff sticks around.

Here's to 2016 being a great year for personal growth, but also importantly, for peace and understanding the world-over.

Hurray!