May-June Take Yourself Seriously 60-Day Challenge

Woo-hoo! New challenge. I'm modifying the "rules"(if they can be called that) from last time but leaving some of them the same.

1. Choose two things that will make you a healthier person--one physical and one emotional/mental/spiritual--and do them for this 60-day period, from now through July 3. (The point of picking more than one thing is that if you pick one thing you can get obsessed, whereas with two you have to spread your attention a little. Also, with two things, if you miss one you might still do the other, and have some success for that day.)

2. If it's the kind of thing you do every day (like drinking enough water), do it every day. If it's the kind of thing you do less often (like exercising three times a week, or seeing a therapist once a week) do it at that frequency.

3. If you don't do it one day, rub some dirt on it and keep going. The important thing is hanging in there through the end, not doing it perfectly every day.

4. If you realize one of the things you picked just isn't going to work for your life, pick something else and switch. There's no point in dragging yourself through something that doesn't make sense just because you posted here that you would. This is for you, not for the internets at large.

5. I'm going to have weekly check-in posts that you can post to every day if you'd like. I'm going to start a sidebar for the Challenge stuff so it won't be mixed in with everything else every day. You can find the post you want in the sidebar and click through from their to check in. Or just read others' check-ins.

6. No judging other people's two things, but if you have info that could help them, please post it. And if you start doing things that other people have set for their challenges, that's great, too.

7. Have fun!

8. At the post at the end of the 60 days, post what you learned during the Challenge.

Now, for my two things:

Physical: Wear my retainer every single night. (Some of you remember that I had braces on my bottom teeth while pregnant with my second son. I have a permanent retainer, but it's basically useless, so I need to get hardcore about wearing the removable retainer every night so all that time and pain won't have been wasted.)

Emotional/spiritual/mental: This one is a toughie for me, but I think I'm going to commit to journaling in a physical journal for 10 minutes every day. I'm going to try to make that time first thing in the morning, but if that doesn't happen I'll still fit it in later on. I do no writing currently that isn't for public consumption, so this will be just for me.

Now you go.

Comments

[Jess]

Think i accidentally posted twice-- sorry!

[epeepunk]

My two:

30 minutes of sustained activity three times a week. Walking with the kids, hauling boxes up and down stairs, whatever.

Not responding in anger. It never helps the situation at all.

[jlg]

Here are my two:

Physical: Stop the mindless snacking! Lately when I am stressed or bored I find myself sneaking into the pantry to grab some kind of sugary treat. The snack usually provides some temporary relief, but I always feel bad (physically, emotionally) afterward. When I feel the urge to grab something sweet, I will ask myself "Am I really hungry?" If the answer is no, I will go and find some other way to relieve stress. If the answer is yes, then I will reach for something healthy instead.

Emotional/spiritual: I find that my husband and I both feel our stress levels rise when our house is messy. For this challenge, I will try to keep a cleaner house by doing the following:
1. After I wash the dishes, dry them and put them away immediately. I find it much easier to keep the kitchen counters clean throughout the day if there are no clean dishes "drying."
2. When I am sitting in front of the TV at night, do something productive (folding the laundry, decluttering during commercials, etc). I will allow myself two nights a week to zone out without doing anything.
3. Spend 10 minutes each evening (before DH gets home) putting things away. I'll try to get the kids involved with this one, too.

Good luck, everyone!

[laura]

Physical: get up every morning by 6:15. hopefully this will also lead to exercising then. But just getting out of the bed by 6:15 will be a big accomplishment.

Mental: try much harder not to blame my husband or other innocent bystanders for a) my bad mood or b) the vagaries of life or c)stupid stuff like the cat peeing on the rug or chocolate ice cream stains on DD's clothes. I don;t know exactly what to call this thing I do, but I know it when I do it (but its usually too late to stop myself...)

[Ann]

I'm so excited to be doing this! It's been hard whittling it down to only 2 things when there are so many I need to work on...

Physical: Learn the T-Tapp 15 minute work out and do it at least twice a week (still need to get a yoga mat to start this...).

Mental/Spiritual/Emotional: Quit farting around on the internet when I'm supposed to be working (like right now...), and actually get things checked off my to-do list! Also, I will check our bank balance once a weekday. And if I have to turn off the TV more often in order to visit all my regular websites while not on work time, so much the better!

[Amanda]

Physical:
Take my vitamins! They made such a difference for the PMDD and then I just kinda stopped taking them which means this month will be a rough one!

Mental/Emotional:
Read a book instead of staring at the boob tube. For me this is much easier said than done, a sad truth.

[cat19]

Physical (daily): Beverages: switch from soda, juice, etc to water and herbal unsweetened iced tea

Spiritual/Emotional (daily): Write in a journal (possibly not physical).

Housekeeping: Make a chore schedule and do at least one thing from it a day.

Spiritual (longer-term): research service times at a local UU church and go at least twice before this 60 days is up

[ada]

I'm excited about this challenge!! It will get me going againg on T-Tapp.

Physical - Start the 4-day T-Tapp bootcamp *today*! Then follow the schedule of every other day for the rest of May, then 2-3 times a week until July 3rd. My goal is to lose one size.

Mental - Start a meditation practice. Will accomplish this by 1) buying some books to learn about HOW to start a meditation practice and 2) actually doing it. So I will buy the book this week and read it. Goal is to get started actually meditating next week.

Thanks for setting this up again Moxie.

[Sherry H.]

thanks for having the challenge again!

physical: take a 1/2 hour walk in the afternoon every day i am at work (4 days a week). and one bit of exercise on the weekend (could be walk, bicycle, etc.)

emotional: no more sweets at work. i am in my fifth week of work and they make great cookies at the cafeteria. how is this emotional? i feel like crap about myself when i eat to feel better and when i gain weight.

[S]

1. Drink more water. (Does anyone know if adding Crystal Light drink mix defeats the purpose?

2. Read unityonline.org every day.

[Charisse]

Ok, here we go:

Physical: following Michael Pollan's idea to eat more leaves & less seeds at all levels of our food chain--i.e. what we eat directly and what the animals we eat eat, eat some form of leaves every day (why's this hard? because I've always hated salad unless it's all dressed up!) and whenever possible get pastured meat, eggs, and dairy.

Mental: book a week, for my own pleasure/intellectual stimulation. Re-reading is fair game but business books aren't unless I'm genuinely interested on my own. I can't write if I'm not getting interesting language input and I neglect this all the time. Pre-child I was a 3-4 book a week girl, and made it back to 1 or 2 when I was nursing for hours and hours. Not so much in the toddler & preschooler phases when I'm at work a lot too. So I started Ursula K LeGuin's "Lavinia" this weekend. It's really good so far if anybody's looking for meditative, imaginative book.

[Julie]

@Ann, you don't need a yoga mat to do t-tapp. Just some sturdy shoes and a dvd player.

[jbq+h]

I'm going to give it a shot this time--thanks for having the challenge again!

Though I would ideally give up eating chocolate multiple times a day, I'm not ready for that. But I will try to do some sort of exercise three to five times a week and write something in a journal every day. I really like the idea of noting down a few of the things that made me happy during the day. And maybe then I will no longer be a crabby patty in the evenings. And possibly following that my chocolate consumption will decrease!

Thanks!

[Charisse]

@BabyBrady, what kind of book do you like? The most unusual book I've read in the last 5 years is probably "Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell" which is basically a Restoration-era sci-fi book (written recently) involving fairies and ravens and the best analog to Jane Austen's language style I've seen. I got lotsa other recs too, especially if you like science fiction. :)

[paola]

@caramama

I charted with the Billings method which after weeks of researching on the net became my be all and end all. I managed to fall pregnant immediately with my first just counting the days as I had a 28 day cycle and keeping an eye on my cervical mucus, but had difficulties the second time as I was still breastfeeding too much and not ovulating. Anyway, I know you are still breastfeeding so have a look at Billings online- it has a chapter dedicated to breastfeeding mothers TTC. Hugely interesting stuff.

[violingirl]

I really fell off the check-in wagon last time, but I need to do this again.

My physical thing is to eat every meal every day. I know that sounds awful- but I only eat dinner because that is the meal I eat with my husband and kids. I need to eat breakfast and lunch too and not work through that time.

My mental/emotional thing is to do something for myself every day- a bubble bath, reading fiction, sewing on a project that is for myself, something like that.

I've been ignoring my needs for quite awhile now, and I'm coming around to the idea that I can't take care of the others in my life unless I take care of myself first.

[paola]

@Charisse,

Am reading 'Mr. Norrell.....' at the moment. Started it last challenge and still going ( has taken more than 60 days, but hey it's long, right?)

[Abacaxi Mamao]

@Mommy-O: Thanks for the compliment, but I'm 28, not 18, so my maturity is probably more understandable. :) Sorry if that was confusing.

(Source of confusion: I was 18 when I was diagnosed with depression and started dealing with (recovering from?) the less-than-stellar parenting I'd received. I love my parents and know that they did and continue to do their best, but their best left much to be desired.)

[m]

I'm surprising myself at how excited I am about this!

Physical: Please don't laugh, but I need to brush my teeth twice a day. I always do it at night, but I only do it in the morning if I'm leaving the house...which sadly I don't do every day. Lame, I know, but my teeth will thank me!

Mental: Spend less time on the internet. I turn it on in the morning and spend a good part of the day checking in on strangers' lives instead of being active in my children's lives. I'd like to only check blogs once a week, but that's going to take some serious weaning, so instead my goal is to not turn on the computer until noon, at the earliest, and try to keep my blog reading during nap time.

And to go in hand with this, I'd like to do something writing related at least once a week, whether it would be submitting to lit mags, writing or revising poetry.

Now, I know that it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to commit to spending less time online with a blog, but baby steps!

[mairew]

Longtime lurker... last challenge definitely inspired me to make changes but had visitors staying for a couple of weeks so completely fell off. Beginning today -
Physical: exercise (probably yoga home practice) 5 x times per week (the bump is growing and must start now in earnest)
Spiritual/emotional: Turn TV off, and do something positive for myself, something each day that will make me feel good, even if that means cleaning up the kitchen.

[Michelle]

This is great - the challenge ends right before my daughter's first birthday...the perfect inspiration to get myself in a better physical and emotional state of mind to celebrate with her.

Physical - do at least 10 minutes of asana practice everyday...just a couple sun salutations in the morning make me feel better. And it's kind of a mental exercise too so I can double up!

Mental/Emotional - start going to marriage counseling with my husband. Our marriage has gone steadily downhill since baby #1 was born...I think we just get through everyday the best we can without making much of an effort to "love" each other...and that catches up to us and we fight now more than ever. During each fight we talk about going back to counseling (we did premarital counseling and some counseling when we were struggling to get pregnant) but we never do because we would have to get a babysitter and spend the money. But we have to do this...I know we love each other we just need to figure out how to communicate that to one another when we are both so physically and emotionally exhausted all the time.

Good luck everyone!

[Sam]

Hi - can I join in too?
My physical goal is to try and walk in the fresh air every day. With a DD (3) and DS (15weeks) I am exhausted and find myself in the car a great deal.
My spiritual is to spend less time online. This will help me reconnect to DH and to do more with my limited spare time. Am going to try to limit myself to an hour per evening.

[Lisa F.]

I'm in.

-lights out by 10:30
-journal once a day.

I'm hoping that more sleep will lead to other goals, exercise, eating better. Am feeling so much better since last challenge. Acupuncturist diagnosed infection as cause for exhaustion, chills dizziness. what??? that sinus infection I had FIVE months ago is still hanging around? Need to get some more recommendations for counseling too, and start screening them. not even sure where to start, wish I had an EAP here at our family!

flea, good luck w/the move & everything.

good luck everyone!

[Sherry]

Physical: At least four nights a week, I will strive for 8 hours of sleep.

Mental: At least four evenings a week, I will strive for 10 minutes of peace -- meditating, writing in MY journal (not my baby's) and/or reading something spiritual before going to sleep.

[Girl Jen]

Can I change a goal?

The emotional goal of clearing off the dinner table and eating dinner as a family, while nice, is something I was planning on doing anyway. Besides, the challenge is more logistical than mental or emotional.

I am going to step it up and do something that is a REAL mental challenge, that when completed may have some good emotional side effects, and needs to be done:

I am going to STOP SWEARING. My lovely 12-month-old daughter has only said six words so far, but one of them was the s-word.

[lindz]

As another of the not-yet-a-mom group using this site to make sure that I/we are ready when we get there....

Physical goal: go to yoga twice a week... it's in the next building and I don't really have an excuse for not going.

Mental/Emotional: be more mindful during my 'me-time'. Usually I'll just get lost in a book or TV and not really check in on myself. I need to be better

[caramama]

paola - Thanks for the tip! I've used the Fertility Awareness Method previously (love the book by Toni Weschler and the forum on her website!), which seems to be similar to the Billings method but it also includes taking temps, which can help determine if you ovulated. I will look into the Billings method more, because I don't know much about it. The body is really amazing when you pay attention to it, you know?

[Cynthia]

I've been thinking about this all day. Both my challenges seem physical, but I think they both tie into the same thing: a little self respect (because I could use more than a little)

Thing one: Take a walk at least 4 times a week, preferably with the 20lb babe (strapped on, instead of strollered if possible).

Thing two: Buy and eat healthy snacks. If I must eat something after dinner, eat one of these. If I *must* eat processed crackers, I need to eat at least one healthy thing first.

[emsgreen]

Last challenge was right after pumpkin was born, so I'm excited that you're doing this again!

Physical - Run 3 times a week. I'd like to do the couch to 5K program via Robert Ullrey's podcast.

Emotional - Be aware of every single cent we spend, including bringing lunch to work 2 times a week. The largest amount of stress I have has to do with our finances and if I can feel like I have those under control my quality of life will skyrocket. At the end of the 60 days I'd like to feel comfortable enough with where we're at to be able to go to a financial planner and start saving for pumpkin's college and save more for our retirement.

[Mar]

I've struggled to focus on two but THINK i've settled on
Physical: no mindless eating. I'll put thought into each meal, including veg/fruit and watch the quantity. I'd love to include a run twice a week (or even once?) but think the eating thing will go a long way in getting me where I'd like to be.

Emotional: get more work done at work. I waste FAR too much time and energy on non-work pursuits. It's gotten to the point where I'm, quite simply, ashamed.

[Stephanie]

Physical: do 5 sun salutations each morning before sitting down to work. Even a little bit of yoga has always improved my sense of well-being, but I've been lazy about it for far too long.

Emotional: sit down once a day to write down things I feel resentful about that day. This as a first step in figuring out what unnecessary (and unhelpful) resentments I harbor and, eventually, expunging them from my "repertoire." I know there are lots of them, and they've really been dragging me down recently.

[rowan+keaton+mama]

Okay, the non-perfection thing has inspired me enough to give this a go...
Physical- Get outside exercise a minimum of three days a week. This will also help me feel better about the large sum of money we just dropped on two jogging strollers and a Babyhawk. (I'll save the impulse buying problem for the next challenge:)
Emotional- Access where the anger is coming from. Will start with journaling and looking a little bit deeper into what makes me react to things the way I do. At the end of this challenge I will make the decision of whether I need therapy or not.
Good Luck Everyone!

[TotallyAnonForThisOne]

OK, not to get too lewd or TMI, but in response to those wanting to have more sex, I thought I would share what worked to jump start (dare I say revolutionize) our sex life:

1) Going off the pill. After 12 years on the pill I had no idea what a huge dent the pill was putting in my libido. When I went off the pill to get pregnant it was like, whoah!, when did I become such a horn-dog? Then came birth/post-partum/breast-feeding and all that entails. When I started to taper off breast feeding, the libido really came back again full force. I am never going back on the pill again-- on the pill, sex once a week felt obligatory, now, off the pill, I actually *want* to do it 2-4 times a week.

2. I'll second Caramama's suggestion of romance novels...believe it or not, there are actually well written books that happen to contain believable romance. Someone handed me Diana Gabaldon's "Outlander" a few months ago...it's steamy, but actually an awesome historical fiction/fantasy book as well.

3. OK, here comes the TMI part. Please don't laugh, but I want to share because I honestly did not know this stuff until a while ago and I'm 31! Hubby went on a business trip a while back for ten days; while he was gone, I, er, experimented with a "personal massager" for the first time in my life (and I'm 31...pathetic, isn't it?). Anyway, I realized that, while sex was very pleasant, I had been missing something very, very important all this time. (I was wondering what was wrong with me 'til a little web research revealed that only 20-30% of women regularly have an orgasm during vaginal intercourse. Now I don't feel so defective.) Point being, now that I figured that out, I've been getting *a lot* (a lot a lot a lot) more pleasure out of sex and it doesn't remotely resemble an obligation or chore. So I guess I'll sum all that up by saying, be honest with your husband and don't be too embarrassed to include some, uh, marital aids into your bedroom activities.

This last one has been so mind blowing for me, I'm honestly wondering why our society doesn't give every girl a vibrator for her 16th birthday. That, if nothing else, confirms the patriarchy of our society to me.

Definitely anon for this one.

[kaswea]

Delurking to join the challenge! This is such a wonderful idea and the timing is perfect for me too. I'm on maternity leave for baby #2 until June 23 and my first child turns 1 on July 5. I've been feeling kind of aimless, at loose ends, so this will help me motivate to make some changes.

I have loooong list of things I'd like to do differently, but I should start small:

Physical: exercise for 30 minutes every day. (I was going to say "join Weight Watchers and lose 10 pounds" but that feels overwhelming. Maybe if I can make this change I'll want to eat more healthily and do all the other pieces of the WW program.) I might try T-Tapp since I hear such good things about it.

Mental/emotional: I need to work on being less isolated during my leave from work. The more time I spend away from friends the harder it is to reconnect, and then it's easy for me to slide into depression. My goal will be to see one friend face-to-face each week and to talk with one long-distance friend each week (I have more far-away friends than local ones).

Thanks Moxie--and thanks to all of the commenters--you're really inspiring me!

[WireGryphon]

Okay, I am in!

Physical: I am going to stop salting everything. I'm not going to worry about salt already in food, just going to stop dousing everything. (Sometimes before I even taste things, I'm ashamed to say.)

Mental/emotional: I'm going to be kinder to myself. Mostly I'd like to stop with the constant stream of negative talk I direct at myself.

[Maureen]

Okay, I'm going to try this round - didn't join in last time but you amazing ladies were so inspiring this last go round. Anyway, I'm starting small with the hopes I'll have a chance at meeting this challenge:

Emotional/Spiritual - I'm going to organize something at least once a week (from redoing the junk drawer, to the top of the dresser, boys' closet, etc.). We started some while we were on vacation (stayed home) and it felt amazing. Makes me enjoy being home so much more when I see a less cluttered/more organized home.

Physical - okay don't laugh... I'm going to try to take the wrapper off the TTap DVD I bought (after reading all the comments from the last challenge) and try it at least once before the challenge is over.

Good luck ladies...

[MrsHaley]

Physical: Be more deliberate about personal grooming. Since it's a broad category (shaving, flossing, nails, hair) I figure I can get something done in this department each day. The two main things I'd like to do are to whiten my teeth and do the self-tanner regularly.

Mental / Emotional: Be more consistent in my moods. I tend to be a moody person. I'm going to try to keep the baseline more positive and only get angry/upset/anxious/snippy about things that matter instead of just because I'm tired or annoyed or whatever.

[Melba]

I didn't participate last time because I was too chicken. But as I read everyone's check-in posts I started wishing I had done it. And then I felt too dumb to tag in mid-way.

Anyway, here's my two:

Physical: take my vitamins every day.
Mental: spend time working in my garden every day. This is kind of also physical but it helps me unwind mentally. Added bonus is that my garden should look fantastic if it gets the attention it deserves.

I go back to work on June 23 (currently on maternity leave) so my gardening one will be especially hard to do then... but I'm going to try!

[Suz]

I am "de-lurking" (what a funny word) to join in on this challenge. My daughter will be 1 in 2 months and I feel like I have that much time to reach all the goals I set for myself before she was born. I won't list them all here though.

Physical-I am going to shoot for 6-7 hours of exercise a week. Exercise is anything that makes me sweat and lasts longer than 20 minutes. I am going to keep track of my minutes on my calendar. I am currently 17 pounds lighter than when I got pregnant. 21 more pounds to go until I reach what my doctor calls a healthy weight.

Mental-I am going to write in my journal, which is actually a series of letters to my daughter, at least 2x a week. I don't know if I'll let her see this journal until she's 13, 21, married, pregnant, 40 or when I'm 6 feet under. And I have to remember that it's really more for me, the letters are just a format to give me guidance. I can say whatever I want. I am not obligated to give this journal to her when she is able to read.

FWIW: one of my favorite books to recommend (former English teacher here) is Barry Udall's *The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint* It's speedy, well written, not too short and such a sweet, sweet story. Disclaimer: I have not read it since giving birth and a lot of my emotions are intensified about things from pre-baby life, though my likes and dislikes are pretty consistent.

I'm really excited I actually posted!

[Tsubaki]

I just started reading this blog and am excited to take part in the challenge.

Physical: Floss every day. Boring and easy, but if it's so easy, how come I never do it?

Mental/emotional: Read every night before bed, fiction or nonfiction, but *NO PARENTING BOOKS*. The goal is to return to being a person who can occasionally have a conversation about something other than parenting/babies. I love being a mom but I don't feel like a very well-rounded person anymore, and I know my husband is dying to have a non-baby related conversation with me again.

[Lisa]

Well, I picked three things last time, and was very successful with one (Omega 3s and vitamins in general) and, well, eeh on the others. So I'm trying again - hoping my same two things will be more doable, especially since I'm more mentally and emotionally ready this time, now that the Omega 3s helped banish the PPD.

Physical - drink lots of water. Keep my Sigg bottle and/or big green cup with me at all times, and use them.

Emotional (physical, too) - Initiate sex at least once a week, in addition to our regular Fri.-night date. Put effort into getting/feeling ready to be with DH - even if it's only toothbrushing and cute undies - since I always feel good when I do.

[onehappycow]

gotta run and no time to read comments - love sleep regressions!

physical: MOVE! at least 30 mins walking a day (if not raining) or some other exercise

mental: study for my Lactation Consultant exam in July. blog more when time permits.

Good luck!

[Norman]

And another lurker is sucked in by the challenge....

1. Physical: I hate to own this problem, but it's time for me to get serious about my plantar wart. I've had it for EIGHTEEN years. That's so long I had to spell it out. Last summer I was too pregnant to reach the bottom of my foot. Over the next 60 days I will file/pumice it and add salicylic acid every day. Don't tell me duct tape. It just makes my foot sticky.

2. I will write in my journal daily. I am so busy working and caring for my baby, I don't know what I even like to do anymore. Self? Meet Self (again).

[Madeleine]

I'm in this time, too!

1: Exercise at least 3 times a week. I'm loosely intending to do 15 minutes of T-Tapp each weekday with the hope that I actually manage at least 3 days. Family biking or running on the weekend is good when it happens.

2: Get control of this "We're Late!" freak-out problem. We're pretty tightly scheduled with spring sports and other stuff, and I let us get behind and then I yell at my 7 y.o. daughter if she spins in a circle when I asked her to get her shoes on. Energetic 7 y.o.s like to spin. So my choices are a) be on top of things, don't be running late already before it's time to get her out the door or b) calm down and be cool about it -- 5 minutes late to most things isn't a disaster. I expect I'll need both of these techniques.

[Amy]

Argh- computer ate my more voluminous post. In short:
PHYSICAL: Do T-Tapp 15 min workout 5 x per week.

MENTAL: Spend a few minutes every day (probably at night) thinking about my 'positive' self and which situations I handled from a positive perspective and which ones could have been handled better had I not met them with my sometimes, needlessly negative thought process.

Good luck all. Very much looking forward to doing the challenge together!

[Lauren]

Delurking to join in this time! I was mid-move last time and too overwhelmed to take part.

Physical: Use my Pilates Reformer during my daughter's morning nap 5 days a week (I had hubby bring it in from the garage and set it up last night and I used it this morning) and walk two miles at the Y at least 3 times a week.

Emotional/Spiritual: Finish going through the boxes from our move that I've been dreading--all the stuff that I probably don't need but am not quite ready to part with. Just deal with it already! I'm so tired of the clutter in the two spare rooms, and it will be good for my emotional state to put it behind me.

[Natalie]

Oh, good! I wanted to join in the last challenge, but was too busy (and busy fighting off germs from all the small children I was around at the time). Now I'm up to it!

Physical - get exercise at least 3x/week - 4-5x would be ideal, but this is more realistic considering how slack I've been the past few years.

Mental/spiritual/emotional - spend time each day making music. I would like to learn a new piece, which is do-able in 60 days, even if I can only find time to practice 30 min./day. Rehearsals for a summer concert will start soon, but I really need to play for myself too.

[Julie]

Great book recommendation - if you read Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner, she has a sequel out about Cannie that I just finished and it was SO GOOD. It's called Certain Girls. SOOOO GOOOD! If you love Jennifer Weiner books (and if you don't know them you should go out and buy them asap) you will love to meet up with Cannie and her daughter Joy and husband Peter again.

I am lucky, I manage to read about 3 books per week - I rationalize it by telling myself I'm setting a good example for Alex. Readers beget readers. But deep down I wonder if he'll resent books for all the time his mom had her nose buried in one. Oh well.

[Edie]

Hi Moxie and everyone,

I'm a relative newcomer to this blog but have really appreciated the advice, insights and the sense of a great community. I'd like to take on this challenge. Here are two things I will work on:

Physical: I am trying T-Tapp. I will do a 10-day boot camp and then do T-Tapp every other day.

Emotional/spiritual: I will try to call -- not email -- a friend I've been out of touch with. In the 60 days I will try to do this 3 times, so basically every 3 weeks.

Thanks for the inspiration and good luck everyone!

[Aletheia]

Hmmmm... My two things.
1) Physical: drink at least 2 liters of water EVERY DAY.

2) Emotional: Make a list of "self-care" tasks that leave me feeling refreshed and on top of it that take 20 minutes or less, and do one every day. So today my goal is to simply make the list. I've been putting myself at the bottom of the list for my son's entire 20 months: it's time for me to start getting my own attention again. I'm pregnant and I deserve (and my unborn baby deserves!) a shift in mentality that will allow my 20 month old to strengthen his own sense of independence.

Thanks, Moxy.