About 2 weeks ago I challenged myself to do 5 “new” things for an entire week —
> take a photo everyday of something beautiful
> style my hair in a new way
> no more pop (!)
> go to bed by 11:30pm, and
> wake up by 7:30am
This challenge was a really great start for me to be more intentional about living life. Going to bed early and waking up early was hard, to be honest. I did well for most of the challenge but since then I definitely did not do well. There are days when Zack works until 8pm. {Plus we had our cousin here for 10 days and it was way more fun to stay up later and hang out than go to bed on time.} On the nights when Zack works later, dinner still need to be made, ate + cleaned up ~ and then if we want to spend time together… that pushes things back even later. I definitely noticed there are things like this that make our days seem like hamster wheels: we’re not getting much done but we’re also super exhausted. Is it wiser to go to bed on time (ish) than to stay up super late and be exhausted the next day? My answer: yes!
The easiest part of the challenge was to not drink pop. It’s not something we keep stocked and Zack & I both noticed not having the extra sugar in our diet actually made us more energetic. I took the liberty to start eating healthier lunches, too. Pretty much every day since I started this challenge I filled up a salad plate with lunch meat, crackers + cheese, fruit ~ like mango or pineapple, almonds and carrots. This part of the challenge seemed to be the most beneficial. For the first time in nearly a year I made myself take a break for lunch. Isn’t that crazy?! Instead of working through my lunch at my desk I sat in the dining room or on the couch with a magazine.
Then there was styling my hair differently. {Did you notice all the hair photos from above? It feels a little silly to have so many photos of myself but if I didn’t share them then the challenge would be incomplete.} Honestly, I’m surprised I liked my hair enough to straighten it for seven days in a row. I mean, that is NOT like me at all. There have been times when I straightened my hair in the morning and then by lunchtime felt so unlike myself that I actually got back in the shower so it would curl up. Not too sure what made things different this time around… but I’m glad I liked it! It was fun and just such a change for me. ♥
I found inspiration through beautiful photos from our daily life. Snapshots of our home, of a trip to Urban Outfitters, of a new place to work, of a healthier lunch, of a backyard break. My mind is filled with dreams of new places to explore. Kim of The TomKat Studio told me recently that we won’t find more time, we just need to prioritize it better. And I think that’s something we can all implement :]
SO THAT’S IT! I always love a little challenge, especially when it’s something like this that will have long-term positive/healthy outcomes. I know a few of you set challenges for yourself {yay!} — will you share them with us below? XO
I loved seeing your challenge photos and reading about it!!
Second row , Second picture, so pretty!! Very inspirational Gussy!
you inspire me to try and kick my pop habit. I usually drink diet vanilla coke and am slightly addicted! ;( I loved your straightened hair pics too, although for some silly reason you don’t seem like Gussy without that awesome curly hair! LOL It is nice to know that you can rock it both straight and curly and look amazing both ways!!!!
I adore your curls! in fact, I envy your curls. haha. But you look great with short hair too! Love the bangs :)
I love the quote from TomKat studios! :) And while I love your hair all around I agree that it looks more like you when it is curly. Maybe the reason it didn’t bother you so much being straight is because you were very intentional about it being that way!
Living with intention and purpose is something I am striving for and your blog is always so inspiring! :)
A great challenge. I need to do actually do a challenge as well… a bit different. I just need to convince myself to start!
You are an inspiration. I’m really enjoying your blog :) I think it’s really important to challenge ourselves to change for the better, to try new things, to meet new people. Thanks for sharing!!
I love that you wrote pop! I say soda or soda pop and everyone goes huh? Five things sounds like a great idea.
Your hair is so cute! I love it!
I love coffee and I wish I could go a day without it. I love it too much to stop drinking it. :) Ha! I know I CAN do it though because I always have given it up during my pregnancies. Every time you mentioned giving up pop I thought, “Ugh, I really should stop drinking my morning coffee!” :) It’s kinda nice to see that we all have things we could give up. :) Good job on your successful challenge!!
Great job, girly! And I really love your hair straight! I recently gave up caffeine, to be healthier, not be dependent on anything, and just to see if I could…I’m happy to report that I’m two weeks caffeine-free! :)
I have so much trouble with time management! The Boy is in law school so when we have tine together, which isn’t often, I drop everything to spend it with him. It’s a huge strain on getting things I need done done but it’s so important to spend time together. It’s hard justifying either one!
Awesome, fun changes and the no pop thing, is so good for you, wish I could get CW to give it up for even a day!!! Hugs to all.
It sounds to me like the cuerrnt situation in most math departments is likely to select for women who don’t mind or even prefer to be in the minority – the women who aren’t happy to have so few women in the department would presumably be that much more likely to leave to do other things. And it seems from the comments people made at the panel that events like this can help to keep those women from leaving for reasons that have nothing to do with their abilities in math, and to attract other women who might otherwise be wary of entering such a male-dominated field. That seems to me to be a good enough reason to have events like this, to begin with.But more than that, to me, this event more than proved its usefulness with that first question that was asked, about how being pregnant might affect a woman’s career. Can you imagine such a question being asked at a panel where all or most of the participants were men? Even if there was a woman brave enough to ask such a question, would a panel of men even know what to say? And yet it’s clearly an important question that many women struggle with. (As I can tell even from the comments to this entry alone.) Isn’t it good to have a place where women can discuss such issues and give advice to each other and discuss their experiences, without each woman having to feel like she has to reinvent the wheel alone, stuck as she is as the only woman in a faculty of men, at what has to already be a difficult time in her life?There are clearly questions about what it’s like to be a woman in mathematics that men can’t answer. Is it really so bad to provide a place where such questions can be discussed?