Well, we made it through January, the longest month ever.

It was a whirlwind of activity. I don’t know quite how I made it through, and honestly, if I can make it through this week and to next weekend, life should get much easier. I know people always say that, but it really is true for me, things really will be a little easier. (HAHAHA!)

I’m well into week two of playing Funny Girl. It’s 8 shows a week on top of my regular teaching, and the hardest part is getting enough sleep, which I haven’t been doing. Yesterday was really helpful though, as both of my college students canceled on me so I ended up having about 5 hours off during the day, during which I caught up on emails and other paperwork and even had time for a nap and practicing. Thursday (that’s today) is my normal morning off so I slept in a bit and now I’m doing more emails and stuff. The admin load lately has been heavy, but mostly because of doing makeups for all the gigs and getting ready for the Music Club Federation Festival which requires sign ups by Valentine’s Day.

Sigh! So much work!

My goals for January: I met some and I didn’t meet others. We did go to the neighborhood Film Club meeting and watched the film already for next month’s. I baked bread, and had lunch with some friends one day. We had wanted to do a hike but the weather was just so cold we decided not to. I have not been as active as I would like, but I have been eating better than in the past, so that’s good. I’ve been doing a lot of stretching and making sure to stand up often. I did some needlepoint one time but haven’t done any since then. Oh, and I have been tracking my books: I read over 20.

I did stay up on my flossing and DuoLingo. In fact, we are planning a trip this summer to Sweden and Finland now, so I decided to sideline my Norwegian learning and start learning some Swedish first, which is similar but different. I have no ideas of being fluent, but I would love to be able to read some things and have a better sense of the world around me while we are there. And yes, I really want this trip to happen, though it seems far away (August) and lots can happen between now and then.

I also did some longer range planning for the year besides what I just mentioned: we blocked off a vacation in May as well and made plans to meet up with my parents halfway between our homes over Spring Break. Louie and I both work hard, many hours, and while it’s tempting in the music world to never take vacations (actually somewhat frowned upon by some!) the beauty of being a teacher/self employed is the ability to take breaks. And if you don’t block them off, those dates will get filled in (I actually messed up a little over Spring Break and should have reserved more time than I did, but lesson learned for the future: plan ahead more).

February goals: more social activities (we may be able to have a small dinner party), two lunches with friends, at least one hike with Louie somewhere local, maybe even two to make up for it, bake for Sally’s Baking Challenge (even though this month looks tough..), exercise more than this month, and keep staying on top of things (I have managed…for the most part). I would also love to make some marmalade, and I’ve made plans for these things in the calendar this month. I realize I am mostly focusing on the fun goals and not any of the house goals, but I also think that is okay: it’s a short month, and though life will be slightly less busy, who am I kidding. But inside projects are a good idea either way, as February weather can be unpredictable (with the idea of getting a hike in, as the weather currently is terrific for hiking, so maybe it’ll stay that way.)

I also want to continue working on my positive attitude and focusing on having an abundance rather than a scarcity mindset. I’m not sure if I mentioned that before, but I keep reminding myself: I truly have everything that I need, and if I keep reminding myself of that, it helps keep feelings of envy and FOMO at bay–if I focus on the positive and what I have, rather than what I don’t have, it is SO much better!

So there you have it. A new month, new me (just kidding, always the same me) and of course, cats..