September

We have a bowl of off-brand fortune cookies in our dining hall that's a little out of place between the cheeseburgers and salad bar, but nonetheless very popular among the student body.  Today my fortune read  "This month your expectations are reasonable and should be met."

A good omen for September? I think so.
But first, thoughts on August:

Things didn't go so well for me this month...the first week was easy, but after I stopped working, there was less to distract me.  I tried my best to be good, but I'll admit the So You Think You Can Dance marathon was a little too enticing...
But life with less television is something I'll keep working on.

September.
I've decided this month is going to be all about being productive.  Since it's the first full month of school, I think it's appropriate to give up procrastinating.  This may be the most difficult challenge for me yet...I LOVE to procrastinate, and I'm pretty good at it.  I've even convinced myself that I do things better when I wait until the last minute. Yeah.

But in light of a mediocre performance in August, I plan to try really hard this month. Starting now with the reading that I should do before tomorrow...
Hope you all had an enjoyable August.

I can't believe it's August already. I've been meaning to blog for weeks...oops. This summer is flying by!

Some thoughts on July:

Being a vegetarian was surprisingly easy.  I thought I would have less energy during the day, but I really didn't notice any difference.  I definitely ate healthier, and mastered the art of making a really good salad.

Some things I ate and loved:

Chickpea wraps!

yummm

 

 Margarita pizza from here

And here...

Kroger brand margarita pizza is so delicious.

For my final vegetarian meal, I had zucchini sliders from Ruby Tuesday. Not something I would normally try, but they were actually really good.

I learned a lot in July about food and vegetables and trying new things.  It wasn't always easy avoiding meat, but I would definitely do it again.

But on to August...

I"m going TV-less this month, the last one of the summer.  I think it comes at the right time, seeing as there are way too many things left on my summer to-do list.  I can usually think of three or four or five useful things I should do after work, but many times I find myself right back in front of TV, watching re-runs of The Office or Say Yes To The Dress.  So I'm hoping that eliminating that distraction I can finally get some things done.

Happy August :)

July

Last thoughts on June:
I really liked the challenge this month.  I think silence is something I don't get enough of anymore. A quite car ride is really nice after a long day at work, and I think that habit will continue into July and August. Anyone else have thoughts on the June challenge?

Moving on...
It's the third day of July, but only my first full day without meat.  Found an interesting vegetarian blog here. I'm excited for this month because I've always been an animal lover, and I've been meaning to try going vegetarian for a while now.  I have heard that going meatless can make you have less energy though, so I'm a little worried since I've got full days at work...but I guess we'll see.

I'm hoping to try a new vegetarian meal once a week, so I'll try to post the recipes.  I made meatless baked spaghetti tonight, which actually turned out really well. 

Anyways, that's all for now.  Hope someone else is brave enough to go meatless for July!

I'm in love with this song lately.

 I like the version by Haley Reinhart better. Yes, I watched American Idol this season...

I really wanted to listen to it on the way to work, but then I got in my car and realized it wasn't on my ipod. A sad start to the morning...

However, I listened to Adele's Rolling in the Deep and felt a little better.  But I had to confess, it was not a music-less morning on the way to work today.
After a long first day though, I welcomed the quiet ride home.

On Silence

This morning I woke up and thought "I can't make it to work without the radio today."

The silence hasn't been quite to easy for me lately.  Maybe the radio doesn't seem like that big of a deal, and really, it's not. But with a few long days at home alone last week while friends and family were scattered or working, I was tired of quiet.  And sometimes I don't feel more alone than driving in the car by myself.  Especially on the 30 minute commute to work at 8 am.

So I got dressed this morning completely accepting the fact that I just couldn't do it today, and I was ready to give myself a break from the radio-less drive.  But then I got to work and realized, to my surprise, I forgot to turn it on. And I was okay.

I have a feeling next week will be a bit LOUDER with camp starting, so the silence will be a welcomed relief.  Now to make it through the rest of the week...

Here's to a happy tomorrow :]

June

This month's challenge is all about giving up excess noise.  I spent some time at the beach last week among family and friends, truly a great start to the summer. But when I came home on Saturday and had a quiet moment to myself, I could literally feel my ears ringing -- although I love the beach, I think there were very few times last week of complete silence.  It seemed that there was always music playing, people talking and laughing, television commercials in the background, waves were crashing on the shore, cars and washing machines and air conditioners and dishwashers were running...so I decided it was time for a little quiet.

I think silence is a good thing sometimes, and I often don't get enough of it.  So I've decided to go without my car radio this month.  Though it's a small gesture, it really does make a difference.  I learned this practice in a small group I was in that focused on peace and silence and simplicity, renewing and refreshing the mind and spirit.  Driving home after a long day at school or at work, I like to turn on the radio, but I've come to realize that the quiet can be much more enjoyable.  If you've never tried this before, I encourage you to go a few days without the radio and see what a little silence can do in your life.

Happy June.

Summer Preview:
 July - vegetarian month
August - no TV
Suggestions for the fall?

I really haven't been as diligent about posting this month as I would have liked...but I don't want to make any excuses for that. Instead, I think I'm going to just call a redo, and keep the challenge the same for the month of May. I think it could really be a good one if I stick to it.
Hope everyone's having a good May so far!

A little delay...

Hellooo bloggies.

So yeah. It's April.  April 9th to be exact, and I still haven't posted this month's challenge.  I sincerely apologize.  I know you all have been checking diligently, day after day, wondering whether I would ever post again...well maybe not.  But I'm back!

So after some conference with my co-blogger, we decided this month's challenge is going to be about giving up excuses.  I know I make excuses all the time - for hitting the snooze button a few extra times in the morning, for putting off my homework, for skipping class, not doing my laundry (my roommate can vouch for that one!)...the list is long.  Sometimes they're excuses made out of fear, other times out of laziness; but April is for leaving those excuses behind.

Maybe that's not concrete enough though...I know I would easily be overwhelmed by such an extensive list, so I'd encourage you to focus on one thing this month, the thing that maybe you find yourself making excuses for the most.  For me, it's probably going to the gym (too much homework, I don't have time, I'm tired, I haven't shaved my legs...blah, blah, blah).  What's yours?

-Erin

Spring is here : )

And with it, plenty to do.  Which is probably why I haven't posted in a while.  But, I'm happy to update that I've been doing pretty well with this month's challenge, no major slip-ups since the beginning of the month.  I haven't even opened the box of shortbread cookies my mom sent me in the mail (I think she forgot I gave up sweets this month...love ya mom!).  That's okay, it will be my motivation to make it through to the end.

Is anyone else taking on this month's challenge? If so, let us know how you're doing! If you haven't, it's not too late!

Erin

Just thought I'd take a little study break to update you on how poorly I've been doing with the new March resolution.  Ever since I accidentally had a thin mint at my cousin's house last week, things have kind of gone downhill...sigh.

But today is officially the first day of Lent, which means I really am going to try to do better.  No more thin mints (or any girl scout cookies...did I mention that I LOVE girl scout cookies?) or ice cream, or cinnamon scones. 
Maybe typing it all out will help me stick with it...

Anyways, hope everyone is having a happy March so far :)

Love,
Erin

A New Month

Wow, I can't believe how bad I've been about posting this month! I guess things got busy at the end with midterms and all that...but now spring break is here along with a new month.

But first, some parting thoughts on February:

Being without Facebook for 28 days was not easy.
But I can't help but agree with the saying...sometimes ignorance really IS bliss.
It was nice to see my friends and actually get to hear about their lives, without having already seen their latest status update or pictures posted.
It feels good not to be so preoccupied with other people's lives, to just BE in your own present moment.  I know I struggle with that on a daily basis, always thinking about how I can make my life better/more exciting/more organized.  It's good just to be content.
But...
Facebook is good for a lot of reasons too.  Keeping in touch with friends, wishing happy birthdays, organizing events, making new friends.  Like anything else, it's what we make it.


So, goodbye February, hello March!


In true resolution style, this month is going to be all about "guilty pleasures."  A big chunk of March is during the season of Lent, so we thought this would be a good month to focus on giving up our own little vices.

My guilty pleasure? Sweets, without a doubt. (My long-term relationship with ice cream could probably use a little break)
What's yours?

-Erin

How I feel without facebook on a given day:

-- peaceful
-- glad
-- out of the loop
-- annoyed
-- tempted
-- proud
--curious
--determined.

Who knew ten days could feel so long?

It feels like I haven't been on Facebook in decades. I was hoping to get something really worthwhile out of this experience, but after ten days, I'm honestly just feeling kind of detached.  Oh, and the whole reading the newspaper everyday is going really great; I pick up a paper each day and find a new spot on my desk for it to sit for three days before I recycle it. Ugh. Amazing that I had time to check Facebook three times a day, but I can't find ten minutes in my schedule to look at the paper. I feel so lame.

On a lighter note, I did get to see my lovely friend Upma today and she showed me a little sympathy for my withdrawal symptoms.  She recommended reading another blog by a guy who tried a 30-day Facebook fast as well.
Here's some good quotes from him:

"Generally speaking, communicating via Facebook is a shallow experience. You read streams of brief messages from a variety of people, but the messages don’t contain much depth. Most are trivial and mundane. Some are clever or witty. Very little of the information you’ll digest on Facebook is memorable and life-changing. Using Facebook can still give you a feeling of connectedness, but the long-term benefits are negligible."

"You can call it social networking, but it’s not really a social experience if you’re actually alone sitting at a computer. Real socialization is face to face."

"Being active on Facebook had the effect of filling my social bucket. But it was essentially a false fill, like drinking salt water instead of fresh water. Instead of providing a real sense of connection that satisfies, it made me think I was out there being social, but I’d still be 'hungry' afterwards."

At the end of the thirty days, he decided not to go back.  You can read the rest of his thoughts here. (Thanks, Upma!)

As for me, I doubt the transformation will be as impressive, but we'll see.  It can only get easier from here, right?

-Erin

I've successfully made it four days without Facebook!

Okay, so four days isn't that great of an accomplishment I guess...it feels like much longer though. What did we do before Facebook?
 Anyways, I've decided that in place of my daily Facebook visits, I'm going to try to read the newspaper everyday.  There's so much going on in the world that I'm unaware of...four days ago I probably couldn't give you in any accurate details of the struggle erupting in Egypt, but I could tell you what my friends' latest status updates were, or who just changed their relationship status to "single."  Kind of backwards if you ask me.

How is everyone else doing with the February challenge?

-Erin

It's February!!

We've officially made it through the first month :)

As promised, I worked SO hard these past seven days to make them the best of January.  Overall, I think I was pretty successful (Okay, so I may have said something about Nicki Minaj having a rather large backside...besides that, spotless!).  I think it really has showed me how much time I spend (waste) talking about other people.  It definitely wasn't easy though.  Thoughts about January, anyone?

So, it's February. And I've just spent the last hour mercilessly Facebook stalking. Why, you ask? Well, we've decided to go with a little alliteration for this month.  That's right, it's February without Facebook. 

I'm a little afraid that this is going to scare some of our followers away...but I hope that you all will join, even if it's just for a day.  I waste so much time on Facebook. Especially now that I'm in college. So as difficult as these next 28 days may be (see, it's a short month!) I think it will actually be good for me to get some work done. Ideally, anyway.

Is it crazy? Unrealistic? Impossible? Maybe. A challenge? Absolutely. But who doesn't love a good challenge?

36 minutes in....happy February everyone!

-Erin

January 24th. Twenty-four days in to our "year without," and I can't help but feel like I should be better at this by now.

My first week back at school I honestly thought I did pretty well (that is, I didn't have any huge venting sessions with my roommate or sister...).  Feeling like maybe I was going somewhere with this, I went into week #2 with high hopes.  Never in my little idealist, optimistic mind did I ever expect an awful, embarrassing dinner disaster on Tuesday night to completely change my pace.  But it happened.  And I was not prepared.

I won't get into the gruesome details, but I was pretty much humiliated by a guy that I had been kind of seeing last semester. So I basically spent the rest of the week venting with my roommate about what I would do to this guy the next time I saw him (slap, spit, vomit, kick, you name it). And when she wasn't around to listen, I was constantly thinking about it.  On average, I spent about 23 hours and 59 minutes of the next three days in total and complete negativity.

And now I sit here writing this, feeling SO lame.  Really, Erin, you're going to let some guy completely wreck this good thing you've got going? Really, you're going to let some stupid, insignificant event take complete control of your thoughts? Yes. That's exactly what I've done.

I'm sad to say that although my anger and insane resentment towards this guy has subsided a little, it hasn't been the best few days.  But I'm making a vow now to make the last seven days of January my best of the month.  Appropriate, since tomorrow will be exactly one week since the my breakdown. Bring it on, Tuesday.

-Erin

Okay, this is a little pathetic.  

I haven't even been back at school for 24 hours and I've already broken this resolution a least a dozen times.  I'd like to think I'm pretty self-aware, but I never realized how much talking about other people dominates my conversations until I really listened to myself talk.  I'm a firm believer that everyone needs at least one trusted friend to confide in and vent to, but maybe that's really not such a good idea.  I don't know.  I tend to get annoyed really easily, but for goodness sake I don't want to be that girl-- ya know, the one complaining about other people and pinpointing the bad qualities of everyone around all the time. 

How is everyone else doing?  What is keeping your words and thoughts kind?

<3 Em

One Week In

So, after a week of January resolution, I'm sad to say that I haven't been doing as well as I would have liked...pretty sad, right?
At the beginning of the week, I was almost thinking maybe this was going to be easier than I thought (ha), but after lunch with some old friends on Wednesday, it was far too easy to gossip about what everyone we knew had been up to recently.  It wasn't necessarily bad things...but definitely some that could have gone unsaid.

Oh well. I guess that's what this blog is for, right? Keeping us accountable. Emily and I have a secret saying that we (lovingly) state when we hear the other saying something that maybe she shouldn't: "Remember, it's January."

I guess next week I'll be saying that to myself since I'll be back at school.  Anyways, I hope everyone else is doing well with January resolution if you've decided to join in! More soon!

-Erin

Getting Started

This year, my sister Emily and I wanted to try something a little different than your typical New Year's resolution.  I think we can all admit that our own resolutions don't always go as well as we had hoped, so instead we're taking on a different challenge for 2011: to give up something for one month, each month of the year.  I thought maybe it would be a little more interesting to choose a monthly "resolution" in the hopes of making 2011 a year for (ideally) permanent positive change.  Of course, I'm in it for the challenge too.

So we're encouraging anyone to join in - for a month, week, or even the whole year – to take part in our challenge of monthly sacrifice.  Of course, no one is perfect; I can say with certainty that there will be months that just don't go as well as others. But this challenge is about making an attempt at a better self and a more peaceful life, and maybe just for fun as well.  There will be days when we mess up or just plain forget, but that's okay.  This blog is a spot to support and encourage one another throughout the year, and to document our progress, failures, and breakthroughs. 

The Challenge for January: Make a conscious effort to stop "gossiping" or voicing negative thoughts about others. 
Everyone likes to vent every once in a while, but this month is the beginning of the year's journey, so we thought it would be good to start off with something that focuses on getting rid of negativity.  I have my mother's favorite saying ingrained in my head from the hundreds of times she's said it: "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."  Okay, so it's a little cheesy, but kind of good advice when you really think about it (did I really just admit that?).  If January had a slogan, I think that would be it.  At work, school, church, home, anywhere and everywhere, we're going to try and control our negative thoughts toward others: their habits, actions, outfits, whatever might bother or annoy us in any way.  There is really no easy way to measure this, so we're all holding ourselves accountable on this one. I know it's going to take some effort, but I really think it's worth it.  But I guess we’ll find out!

-Em and Erin