Linger Moments ~ No. 7

lin·ger

/ˈliNGɡər/

verb

to stay in a place longer than necessary, typically because of a reluctance to leave.

You know those moments: the ones often catching you by surprise, causing you to pause a little longer than perhaps intended. You are invited to take a moment to linger as you complete the first half of your week and look forward towards the second.

1. Anne With An E

Like many young girls (though no others in my family) Anne of Green Gables was one of my favorite movies as a child.  Recently, it seems the beloved book and movie seem to keep coming up.  A blogger-friend frequently mentions how she uses the original film score as a backdrop to her writing.  An Instagram account that I enjoy following also brings up in her desire to just live in a simplified "Anne of Green Gables" world.  At every mention of the story, I felt a longing to go back to those childhood days.  Then, just like that, Netflix created the series Anne with an E.  I watched one back at the beginning of summer and decided to wait to watch them with my daughter.  We are only a few episodes in, but we are loving it!  I love the values it is helping to teach my daughter including the importance of friendship and of loving oneself.

2. Dave's Killer Bread "Good Seed"

We first tried this bread at a friend's house during the impending Hurricane Irma.  Sandwiches were made for the children; however, my particular child decided not to eat on this occasion which meant I had the pleasure of eating the deliciousness that ensued.  This bread is some of the most flavorful bread I've ever had on a sandwich, and you probably don't know this about me but I'm quite the sandwich aficionado.  It's thick with nutty-flavored seeds without tasting dry at all (which is exactly what I was expecting).  Some of the seeds featured in "Good Seed" include whole flax seeds, sunflower seeds, ground flax seeds, un-hulled brown sesame seeds, and un-hulled black sesame seeds.  It comes in a full-sized loaf or a thin-sliced loaf.  I've found it at our Publix here in Roswell, but it took our Milton Publix a little while longer to get it in... I've heard that if you request products they do their best to stock them, though.  Try it out- seriously. 

3. Burt's Bees Basil Leaf Natural Soy Candle

I've been a long-time user of Burt's Bees' products, from their amazing (non-addicting) Beeswax Lip Balm to their soothing Baby Bees' products, and have generally loved them all along. When I discovered their candles at our local Publix (for Buy-One-Get-One, nonetheless), I decided to try one and picked out a "Basil Leaf" scent.  It smelled fresh and clean and I decided it would be perfect for our kitchen.  The first time I lit it, I continued throughout my day and upon returning to the kitchen, was greeted with a fondly memorable scent of the old Harry's Farmer's Market.  I was shocked at first because I always had assumed what I was smelling at Harry's was in fact lavender from their soap bar display.  However, the nostalgic feeling the scent gives me is enough to make it an instant favorite as well as keep me burning it all day.

18 for 2018

Borrowing an idea from Gretchen Rubin, I decided to list 18 items/goals/resolutions for myself to work towards in the year 2018.  I've broken them down into daily, weekly, and monthly goals and ambitions.  

"Either only once or every day." Andy Warhol

There are some things that are easier to remember to do when you do them every day.  They become a habit- not something you have to decide if you're going to do it or not, but just something you do every day.

Daily:

1. Write down one thing I'm thankful for

2. Get 8 hours of sleep

3. Pray for my family, church, and country

4. Blog writing for 5 minutes

5. Post a social media post or story

6. Floss

7. Dry the clean dishes and put them away

8. Avoid speaking or thinking poorly of others

"I must have a prodigious quantity of mind; it takes me as much as a week sometimes to make it up." Mark Twain

Weekly:

9. Popcorn-movie night with the kids

10. Date with Chris

11. Take a hot bath

12. Call my parents

"Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you."  Thomas Jefferson

Monthly:
13. Read 2 books

14. Monthly book club with Chris
15. Learn to cook one new dish

16. Dinner with my family

17. One race a month

18. Coffee with a friend

I plan on doing future posts detailing some of the above items.  Are there any that YOU are particularly interested in hearing more about?

I'd also love to hear about your 2018 goals/resolutions/aspirations!  

Ta-Da! A Look Back on 2017

A writer that I often reference and truly look up to, Gretchen Rubin (see previous posts about her here, here, and here), often talks about setting clear goals and being extremely specific about how you plan on reaching those goals.  Her writing also introduced a new version of a "To-Do" list, called a "Ta-Da!" list.  Rather than listing things to do, one makes a list of things they've already accomplished.  The thought process behind this is that if you see all you've accomplished, you're more likely to keep going and are encouraged to accomplish more.  So, before I post my 2018 Goals, I wanted present to you my 2017 Ta-Da! List.

2017 New Years Resolution #1.
To-Do: Read 25 Books

Ta-Da: 11 Books Read

As you'll read in the upcoming post about 2018 Goals, I will once again endeavor to read 25 books this year.  While I'm disappointed that I did not reach my goal of 25 books for 2017, I am still proud that I read as much as I did and plan to make 25 books happen in 2018!

2017 New Years Resolution #2.
To-Do: Publish 50 Blog posts

Ta-Da: 13 Blog posts Published

Yikes... this is nearly half of what was published in 2016.  Sometimes I wonder if this blog is something I should even be doing but the thought of never writing makes me feel considerably unhappy.  Trust me when I say I truly think of this blog and writing nearly every day.  And someone once told me when there's something you love so much that you think about it every day, you should never let that dream go.

2017 New Year's Resolution #3.
To-Do: Complete Level 3 of Rosetta Stone

Ta-Da: Nada

This is another slightly embarrassing assessment... As of matter of fact, it's been so long since I've logged in to Rosetta Stone that I don't even remember what level I'm currently on... somewhere in level 2, I'm sure.  However, I'm happy to report my daughter's French is daily improving, which only makes me wish they had language immersion schools (paid for by the state) for adults. 

2017 New Year's Resolution #4.
To-Do: Dance More

Ta-Da: 3 Months of Salsa Classes which concluded with graduating from the "Beginners Classes" to the "Intermediate Classes."

This past summer I finally decided to pony-up and signed up for Salsa lessons.  It was one of the most fun things I've ever done!  I met a great group of people and while I felt it necessary to stop lessons for a while once my daughter's school was back in session, I look forward to starting them up again next summer.

2017 New Year's Resolution #5.
 To-Do: More Yoga, and Perfect the Push-Up

Ta-Da: I haven't done yoga in about a month

Up until then, I had been going several times a week, but once school got out for the holidays, it was less convenient to go and with all of our holiday travels and activities, it became super easy to just skip it.  Once school gets back in, I have every intention of getting back into it and perfecting the crow pose, which I actually nailed once last year!

 2017 New Year's Resolution #6.
To-Do: Be Honest with Myself and Others About What is Best for My Family

Ta-Da: This is an ongoing endeavor of which it is quite difficult to gauge the progress.

However, I feel as though we've taken great strides this year in making decisions while putting our family first.  One of the biggest ones was this past Fall when I cut back on my teaching by nearly 50%.  I'm now teaching the least amount of students I've ever taught, but I daily see the benefits of having more afternoon time with my children.  Especially Fiona, who started 1st grade this year, is enjoying having someone to help her with homework and is excelling in her studies.

Additionally, I had filled in a "Bucket List" at the front of my 2016-2017 Emily Ley academic calendar, and I was pleasantly surprised to see I had accomplished those goals:

• Visit  Chris' Grandparents
• Create Memory File Boxes for Fiona and Eliot
• Play for Church
• Volunteer/Usher for ASO
• Potty Train Eliot
• Get a Puppy!

I look forward sharing my goals for 2018 with you in my next post. In the meantime, I'd love to hear of your "Ta-Da" moments from 2017!