Cleaning · Goals · Motivation · Organizing

Getting back on track

kimberlyvaniperen2 Comments

I have not wrote a post in a long time. I got out of the writing habit and then felt I did not have anything of value to share. That is the thing with a habit, once you have them established they come natural, when you are still in the building phase it takes work to keep them going. The key is, if you get off track, like I do, pick right back up and keep going. I am trying to do that now.

I had events I was looking forward to get canceled in March and April, which effected my mood and motivation. Things were changing daily and caused some overall stress. I felt myself being more tired even when i would get plenty of sleep. It was effecting my workouts too, I know I was not pushing as hard as I could. At the end of April a new workout program came out so I started that. It is a challenging workout which is exactly what I needed. I also ran my virtual half marathon a few weeks ago, I will write another post on that soon. Both of those things got my energy back up and reset my mindset and mood.

I am slowly adding back in my reading to my mourning routine. I have heard many people talk about all the projects they have gotten done because they had more time on their hands right now. I had not done anything, and I let that bring me down also. I do like to clean, but there are also weeks I like to do nothing and so the work piles up. That means when I do clean, it takes more time and effort.

I got some new pyrex containers, which meant I needed to clean out old ones. That started it all. I started by cleaning out my containers and organized that cupboard and then I put a storage unit together I had gotten a few years ago for my crafting projects. The next day, I did even more cleaning, I dusted (which is the one task I hate doing), moved things out of the closet to vacuum in there and washed the curtains that cover our master closet.  I laid in bed that night and felt so relaxed, it was looking so good already in the house and smelling so good. It is hard with three cats in the house to keep it smelling fresh so that was huge for me.

Something changed for me then, I decided I was going to work on cleaning all the curtains and windows in the house. It is amazing how much different a house can look with clean curtain and windows. We are even sitting in the living room now with blinds open.

I guess you could call what I am doing Spring Cleaning, I have never really done that so not what I have been calling it. I am just kind of going with it now, I make a list of 3 things I want to get done each day and know it will all add up. It took me 4 days to clean the fridge because I did it one shelf at a time but the work added up and its done and looks great now.

I am determined now to continue with the cleaning and organizing. With that being the goal, I have the plan in place to make it happen.

  • I will make a list of 3 things I need to get done each day.
  • One day a week, I will do the deep cleaning and touch up the dusting to keep it under control.
  • Each time I touch up the dusting, I will add one spot I need to dust and then the next week maintain that area.
  • Give myself grace, if I miss a day I will not beat myself up. I will leave it for the next day. If I do not do it the next day I will leave it to my one big cleaning day and get it done then.

Those are the three things I am going to start with. It will help keep me on task and not be too overwhelmed by thinking I need to clean it all at once. I know, if I can keep up with maintaining the work I have done already, it will make my normal cleaning go faster.

There is no shortcuts, I know it is going to take a lot of work, but the results I have already seen it will be so worth it. Time to put in the work and get it done!

Goals · Motivation

Prioritizing sleep

kimberlyvaniperenLeave a comment

Last week, I had many things I wanted to do. I do not like to use the word “busy”, I usually just say I have many things going on which is great. I usually do have a full scheduled, here is the thing though, there is nothing on this scheduled that I do not choose to put there. If I do not feel it is in line with my goals, and if I feel I need to say no to make sure I get sleep I say no.

Not many understand that. I have noticed that the world seems be be more focused on being “busy” and lack of sleep as a badge of honor almost. If someone does say they get sleep people are quick to judge them. I want to add here too, I know there are seasons people due get less sleep. You have a new baby and they get up a lot I completely get that.

I am more thinking of people who fill their schedules so full they forget about the importance of sleep. The person that stays up until midnight watching TV or mindlessly scrolling social media instead of going to bed. I am guilty of that as well, but I am also try to be intentional about my sleep.

I heard this said from my confidence coach and I try hard to remember it when I know I need to get myself to bed but I would much rather watch TV or scroll social media. She said “You have to parent yourself”, just like you have to tell kids turn the TV and go to bed you have to do that for yourself. Like kids, we do not always listen but I know when I can get myself to listen and get to sleep on time I feel so much better my whole day.

My goal every night is to get 7.5 hours of sleep because I know that is when I feel the best and am the most productive. With the half marathon training I am doing, which side not I ran only 1 days this week and cannot wait for the training to be done. I know the more sleep I get the better to help my feel energized for my run. Some days this looks like me going to bed with lights off between 7:30pm-8:00pm. This is not easy, but since my hubby gets up early for work anyways we are both usually in bed at the same time which helps.

Going to bed at this time is way out of the normal for most people, especially people my age. I do tend to get judged a lot about it also. I get comments all the time about my early bedtime, but I truly think they only judge me because they are jealous. I think, people see others getting sleep and wish they could have that discipline. There are weeks too that if I have activities I am choosing to do and will have me up later at night then normal, I try hard to them make it more of a priority too balance that by going to bed at a good time the other days.

Last week, I did not do this well. I did not parent myself well and I would get in bed on time but would turn the TV on or scroll social media way too long. It caused my to get off my night routine a bit and not do my night prayers and mediation like I want to either. I also noticed that I did not feel at my best. I did not have the energy or the mental focus I had previous weeks when I got sleep. I let me nutrition fall a bit and pretty much ate whatever I wanted, which tends to happen to me when I do not sleep as well.

So, this week it is back to game on. I am going to focus on my sleep, and hope my girls do not wake me up in the morning fighting. I am also going to focus on the water. I know both of these things will help me be at my best, when I am well rested and have better nutrition all of the rest of the things I need to get done in my week are easier.

I challenge you to both find the amount of sleep you need for you to feel at your best. For me, I have learned it was 7.5 hours but that may not be for you. Maybe you feel best at 7 hours great shoot this week to hit that goal 3 days. I encourage you to think about how much you talk about the lack of sleep you get, why do you feel you have to talk about it? I encourage you to be more mindful of your words and see if there is another way you can phrase. Even if you did not get the sleep you want you can say it in a positive way, when I do not meet my sleep goal I tell myself I got the exact amount of sleep I needed to give me the energy I need to get through the day.

The last thing, stop judging other people. The beauty in this world is that we are all different. We all have different priorities and different dreams and that is amazing. Let them do what is best for them and you do what you know is the best thing for you.

Just be kind!

 

Fear · Motivation

World Cancer Day 2020

kimberlyvaniperenLeave a comment

Today is world cancer day, but for many people everyday is world cancer day. It does not just end or go away after today. I work with pediatric cancer so I see cancer everyday, I also had cancer myself.

Next week marks 6 years from hearing the words myself “you have cancer”. Yes, I did hear those exact word because I remember hearing what my diagnosis and specifically saying “does that mean I have cancer”. I think for me I had to hear the actual words to be able to process what was next for me.

I was lucky, if you can call having cancer lucky. I was young, healthy and I had a cancer that was very treatable. I had 6 months of chemotherapy, which was not easy. I had a few side effects and the hardest part, I lost my hair. I was proud of myself for getting through that and still managed to continue to work full time. I only missed 1 day during treatment and a few at the very end when I was in the hospital for a few days.

Again I say I was ‘lucky”, although the treatments where not and there was many treatment days I really did not want to go too. I would just get feeling better and back to normal and it would be time for treatment and to start the cycle all over again. I got through it.

Today, I had my routine follow up with my oncologist. My labs all looks awesome, other then I need to drink more water. He said especially with me training for my half marathon I need to get more water in. So cheers as I raise my water glass to take a drink of water. My exam was good as well so I will have another follow up in 6 months, after that one we may change and do yearly follow ups.

I see my oncologist for both the Lymphoma and for my low immune system, which I get monthly infusions for. He will have to manage those infusions and for that I will only need to see him yearly. I cannot even remember when I had only yearly visits with a doctor so when that happens it will be another huge milestone.

There is one lab test still pending, it takes a few days for those results to come back. It is a level that when my cancer was active it was elevated, so there is a piece of me that has that in the back of my mind, but I will not allow myself to focus on it. I have been feeling amazing and all my other labs are great so I feel pretty confident it will be undetectable when it does come back.

If it does come back high, it will depend on how high. I have had it come back slightly elevated and we check in a month and its back to negative. If it is not good news, I will deal with that when it comes but my focus today is celebrating I am now 5.5 years in remission. Yes, relapse is always possible but each visit I am in remission is a gift and I am extremely grateful for that gift and will not take that lightly.

World Cancer Day may just be a day for some people, but if you were effected by cancer in some way every day is World Cancer Day! Today I remember all those that have lost their battles with cancer, those that are currently fighting cancer and those like me grateful enough to have beaten cancer.

If you are currently battling keep pushing and no your not alone there are many others out there and we all fight together!

No One Fights Alone!!!

 

Fear · Goals · Motivation · Uncategorized

Be intentional with your time

kimberlyvaniperenLeave a comment

Another book reference for you, this one comes from “How to Get Sh*t Done” by Erin Falconer. I believe I reference this book before, but this week I was reading about the importance of time tracking.

We all say we do not have enough time in the day, truth is we all have the same 24 hours in the day. It is more about how we use our time and what we prioritize in our day that causes us not to be able to get what we want done. How much time are you spending mindlessly scrolling Facebook or Instagram? Be honest here, I myself are just as guilty of this so I have my hand raised too.

I challenged myself to track my time this week and see where exactly I was spending it. With my personal time I did do pretty good, I did notice that in the morning, I would spend a lot of time sitting on the couch before working out. What I was doing with this time was scrolling social media, checking my Fitbit app to see how I slept, and watching TV. I was drinking my coffee and eating my pre workout meal on my run days but the majority of the morning time was being wasted.

It is still a work in progress but I did manage to not turn the TV on right away when I get up. This has allowed me the time to drink my coffee while I ready my journal book by Bob Goff, my 3 minute women devotion book and sit in silence even for a few deep breathes. It is not easy to change habits so I am celebrating the small win here. Next week I will continue with these 3 things and add in writing in my planner what the 3 big things I need to do for that day. I may even not allow myself to sit on the couch at all (it is an idea anyways).

I know that I give myself plenty of time in the morning to get to my workout on time and not feel rushed. The key is I need to be more intentional with my time and this will happen. I have had to rush on my run days because of all the time I waste.

Just like starting a day with a routine is important, ending a day with one is just as important. I believe my post from last week went more into detail on this. While I still have my few chores that I have to do every night, I mean for some odd reason my cats and husband think they need supper hehe. I am adding a personal routine to help me relax before going to sleep.

My night routine looks something like this, I come home and try and take my make up off before doing anything else and change into PJs of course. The last few days I have rubbed a little coconut oil on my face, then use my Mary Kay under eye cream and night lotion. If I have already at supper I use my floss picks to floss my teeth, brush my teeth and use mouth wash (working on brushing and flossing my teeth 2 times a day). I then put a little lotion on my hands and head to bed.

I sit cross legged in my bed, pull out my planner to do the rest of my time tracking and if I have something I cannot forget for the next day write it in right away. I then turn to medication. I have been meditating to the angels and my guardian angel, a practice Gabrielle Bernstein talks about in both her books I have listened too “The Universe Has Your Back” and “Super Attractor” (both I highly recommend in audio for sure).  I do this for a few minutes and then say my nightly prayers. When I am done with both of those I then write in my journal anything that came to me during meditation and make sure to write things that I am grateful for. Gratitude is the number 1 thing that relaxes me at night.

I have only done this night routine a few nights, I missed in Friday night and I could completely tell that it made my start to my Saturday the way it was. The one thing at night I do need to improve is after my night routine, I need to put my phone down right away and just sleep. We are all a work in progress of course.

I know, my routine is a little different and it may not be your jam. That is totally cool, what you need to take away from it is this: it is important to find a morning and night routine that works for you. If you have a routine it will help you be more intentional with your time and your day. I am seeing, that with routines, I am more relaxed and I feel like I have more energy and time in the day. It is almost like I added more hours to my day even though I know that is not possible.

Starting routines are extremely hard, so do not give up. If something is not working find out what it is and adjust course. It took me many years to get into the habit of working out in the morning. I tried different times of the day until one just clicked and it felt natural. I knew that meant it was meant to be and that I finally found the habit that would help me stay accountable with working out.

Need help setting a routine, message me and I would love to chat and help you get started with a routine.

Morning Routine Goal:

  • Alarm goes off (do not hit snooze).
  • Put on workout cloths right away.
  • Make bullet proof coffee and pre-workout breakfast if its run day.
  • Do not turn on the TV or scroll social media
  • Write 3 main goals for the day in planner
  • Get out devotional books
  • Sit in silence and deep breathe
  • Get workout started by 4:45am on run days
  • Shower after workout (listen to audio book while getting ready)
  • Floss and Brush teeth

Night Routine Goal:

  • Remove makeup
  • Under-eye cream and face cream
  • Floss and Brush teeth
  • Time tracking in planner
  • Meditation
  • Prayer
  • Journal
  • Do not look at phone after journaling

 

Remember: Change takes time so be patient with yourself!!!

Fear · Goals · Motivation · Uncategorized

Embrace the training

kimberlyvaniperenLeave a comment

Half marathon training is HARD! I think I now know why I did not train last year.

Today was long run day, since I did not run last week I repeated so had a 10K race to do. I thought I would start there and push myself to go longer and do 8-9 miles.

Of course, my girls woke me up at 3:45am again so that right there did not help my day to get started on the right foot. I tried to sleep off and on on the couch until finally getting up around 6:30am. Had my coffee, ate some food then made the hubby breakfast and off to the treadmill I went.

The run started off okay, my speed was going well and the first few miles were not too bad. I began to struggle to find something to watch, which caused me to focus more on the dreaded numbers. I felt like I should have been doing way better and watching the miles go up so slow just took a toll on my mind.

The one think I can say, is I stayed on the treadmill and I got to the 6.1 miles. I walked way more then I am proud of and felt very defeated in myself.

More important than the running and not the best time is actually what I did after that. I allowed myself to be disappointed and then I knew I needed to fix my attitude and fast.

This week I had focused on working on a morning and night routine. We went out to celebrate a friends birthday and when I got home I did not due the last few things I should have in my new night routine. Which I believe is why I was not as motivated to do my morning routine. Since I did not do that before my run, it did not set me up for success.

After my running and allowing myself the few minutes to be discourage during my stretching. I got right to work on what I knew I needed to do. I got out me new 365-day journal reading book by Bob Goff. If you have never heard of him or this book you should check it out. Since I hate to wait, I got mine at Barns and Nobles but it is also on Amazon of course.

I did my 3 minute devotional for women, took a few deep breaths in silence then went and took a shower. I listed to “The Universe Has Your Back” by Gabrielle Bernstein. The book helps you to align yourself with the universe and has meditation practices in it to help. There is just something soothing and calming about her voice and the cleansing of a hot shower that does wonderful things for the mood.

I had a different post in mind for this week, which I still plan to write, but I felt strongly pulled to share this experience of both a disappointing run day as well as the 3 things I did to get out of my funk. After Doing my devotions, that few deep breaths in silence, listening to a positive audiobook and a cleansing shower I feel ready to take on the rest of my day.

The biggest thing I want you to take away from this post is this: Not everyday will be great, not every moment will be great. The important thing is to find something that will help you change a bad mood into a good one and not ruin a whole day. There is always something to be grateful for in each and every day.

This training for a half marathon is tough, but I know I can do it and when I get done I will be both stronger and so proud of myself for doing it. It was one bad run day and I will make the next one a better one!

Embrace the Training

Fear · Goals · Motivation

You do not have to “DO IT ALL”

kimberlyvaniperenLeave a comment

I have had a many conversations in the past about feeling overwhelmed with all the things that need to be done in a day. I am talking all the life stuff and how you find time for it all. I hear all the time I do not have time to _______ fill in the blank. Many times that blank is workout, or eat healthy or even sleep.

I do not care what your life looks like, you could be a stay at home mom with 5 children, or you could be a working parent with 2 kids, or you could be like me a working wife that has fur babies. Are all lives and responsibilities may look a little different but the one thing we do have in common is a full schedule.

This week on top of all my routine nightly chores I did errands, worked out all 5 mornings, found time to go to church to get together with the sewing group for the first time, had a zoom call with my confidence group and even went to bed at 7:30pm the other night.

What is my secret, I prioritize things that are most important to me. I believe it was Mel Robbins that I heard say plan a quit time each day. I have started applying this to chores in the evening. I was starting to notice that I would get myself very stressed in the evening trying to do it all on my to-do list and would feel guilty if I did not get it all done. I sometimes would not go do activities I was interested in or invited too because of it.

I started each day picking things that I know need to be done each night which tend to be making supper, feeding the kitties, filling the humidifiers, packing lunches and scooping litter boxes. If there is extra time before my “quitting time” I do another task that is on the list but I never let it stress me out if I do not get to it. That may mean there is a lot of kitty fur on my floor, dirty dishes in the sink, clean dishes in the dishwasher and laundry in the dryer. It will all still be there when I get to it the next day, and I figure if God does not grant me another day if someones first thought is “did you see she left dirty dishes in the sink” I think they are the ones with the problems. Life is way too short and precious to care about dirty dishes.

The nights that I have an activity that I want to prioritize my list of things I get done maybe even smaller. My quit time may change and I may have to push my bedtime to accommodate. The key is to knowing what is the most important thing that needs to be done and let the others wait to take the pressure off ourselves that us women are very good at putting on ourselves.

Another thing that has helped me tremendously is knowing what time of the day I work best. I had always been a night person, but I have now changed to a morning person. Since I am a morning person it is also why I have such an early bedtime especially during the week. Working out, more specifically half marathon training is important to me. I have learned that the only way I stay committed to that and constant is to get my workouts done in the morning. Once my day is started it is much harder for me to get my working done, especially during the week. I am tired by the end of my day and if I put my workout off until then, I do not have as much energy during my day and I am too tired by the time I get home too get it done. So, I wake up some mornings at 4:15am to drink my coffee and have a little food before getting a workout in.

One of my biggest pet peeves has to be people saying I am to “busy”. We all have a lot of things going on in life, I do not know a single person who is not “busy”. If something is truly important to you, you will find a way. I have a full scheduled but for the most part I am in full control of it and if I really want to do something I will. I am learning to schedule time to get things done that are truly important to me and saying no sometimes when things do not inline with my goals.

As I said above, I am a busy wife that works full time, has 4 fur babies to take care of, a house to run with cooking and cleaning, at minimum a monthly infusion that is 3 hours and other routine medical appointments. I still manage to find time to see friends, spend time with my husband, attend bible study, write on my blog one time a week, working on writing my book, working out and work on my hobbies.

I am not perfect and have moments where I feel overwhelmed with that, I then remind myself that I am choosing to do all of these things and somethings on my schedule can wait. Even right now, I still have some Christmas decorations up, did not get them all down when I took the tree down a few weeks ago. I have so much dust in my house I could write my name in it and I currently have a load of cloths in the washer that needs to go into the dryer. I have prioritized that Friday nights will be my writing night so while I finish this post the cloths will be in the washer, I am sure they will still be waiting for me when I get up in a minutes. The dust will still be there tomorrow when I hope to have a little time after my run, and if someone wants to judge me on my nativity scene still being up they certainly can.

When I really sat down and thought about all the things that caused me so much stress, I came to this one simple conclusion:

I was the only person putting all the pressure on me.

I had no one to blame for all the pressure I was feeling but myself. I had no one telling me I had to do all of these things, in my head I felt that in order to be the best wife, cat mommy, and women in general I needed to do all of it every night and have this perfect house. Truth is this, the only thing I need to do is take care of myself first. If I do not take care of myself, then I will not have anything left to give to others.

I have added one other trick in the last few weeks. It is based on a concept in the book How to Get Shit Done by Erin Falconer. I believe she words is as the Big 3. I look at it as I am picking 3 big goals I want to focus on right now and that is all. Right now I am focusing on half marathon training, writing (which includes my blog and my book) and connecting with others (which I have been doing by going to bible study and sewing). For everything I say yes too I think if it is in line with these 3 goals and if its not, then I figure out if it is something that is worth making a priority.

So far it has worked well. I have been able to stay committed to getting weekly posts done and writing on my book weekly. I have been training by running 3 days a week, which going to bed early has helped my training. I also move things around and go to bed early different days when I know its week of bible study and I will be up later. Its all about balance and living a life that I am working towards things that bring me closer to my goals and bring me joy.

I am very glad I have made some of the changes I have lately and it has impacted me in positive ways so far. I have even been able to spend more time with my husband on the weekends while he practices his hobby and I do not feel guilty. I know I have the things done I need to for that day and can bring my crafting with and do something fun and relaxing guilt free.

One other thing that I forgot to message here and I think is so important. ASK FOR HELP! As women, for some reason we hate to ask for help. I think we get it in our head that no one can do it like we can. Get rid of that though right NOW! I learned a long time ago it does not matter if the dishwasher is loaded like I do it, all that matters is the dirty dishes are in the dishwasher. It is one less thing I have to worry about. You have to specifically ask too, if you are asking someone to do something save yourself the trouble and leave out the subtle hints. If you cannot read someones mind they cannot read yours. You want your husband to take the trash out, say to him hey babe can you please take this trash out. Use the exact words of what you want done so whoever you are asking knows what to do!

If you have something you can outsource by all means do that. If you hate cleaning, maybe you can budget and have someone come in and clean. I have thought about this, truth is though I enjoy cleaning. So, I have made the choice that I will live in a little bit dirtier house at times so I can get my writing done and still do the cleaning when I have time because it brings me joy. Never be afraid to hire help, especially if you can afford to.

Now I have a challenge for you. I challenge you to do what I do. Think of things that are causing you too feel pressure. If they are things that you alone are putting the extra pressure on yourself, see if you can find a way to lessen that pressure. Also, find 3 things that you want to focus on for your life that make you happy. Schedule those things and say no to all things that do not aline with those 3 things.

This may cause people to now understand why you do the things you do but that is okay. You live your life how it works for you and do what brings you joy. Do not worry about what others are doing or what they may think about you. You do you my friend and rock you life filled with JOY!

Motivation

Embrace the Unexpected

kimberlyvaniperenLeave a comment

Since my word for 2020 is Embrace, I am going to continue with that theme for at least this weeks post. This week tried to knock me down and I had to try and embrace the unexpected.

I wish I could write that I nailed it and 100% of the time was just going with the flow, but this is real life and that is not what happened. Let me lay out my first 2 days of the week for you:

Monday: I knew I needed an oil change and to get the tires rotated, which my hubby was going to take care of today when I was having my infusion. Long story short, I ended up having a piece of plastic hanging down and dragging in the front of my car. Off to the dealership I went to get that repaired along with the  oil change and tires rotated. I didn’t embrace the unexposed very well in that moment. While I was waiting, I did make myself focus on the things I was grateful for in that moment. I was grateful they could get me in right away, they could get it all done without me having to make another appointment and that I was able to leave work and take a long lunch to get it taken care of. By the time my car was ready I was in a better mood and I was able to just be grateful that we had the finances to take care of that and that my car was once again maintained and ready to go for the trip we were planning to take today.

Tuesday: I woke up and notice the hubby forgot his coffee, so I was drinking the left behind coffee while I was eating a little something before my run. I got up to go to the treadmill, and I thought I had a good hold on my tumbler with water in it. Turns out, I did not and the lid came off which caused it too hit and break my favorite coffee mug. It spilled coffee and water all over my end table and the floor. I had to clean that mess up, took the glass top off the end table and put a fan on the floor to help it dry. Decided even with now running behind I was still going to get on the treadmill, get to the back room had to stop running because I forgot a second ponytail holder (long hair problems lol). Started running and looked at my fitbit to monitor my heart rate during my run, it wasn’t working. I have had this fitbit for almost 2 years and I noticed the battery life was starting to wear out and that it was having issues syncing so it was time for a new one but didn’t want to but it just yet. That was my last straw and I decided that I would move my run to the next day and do my Barre Blend workout instead.

Tuesday after work I was able to run my errands and get a new Fitbit, I was happy they were on sale since I wasn’t planning on buying them and I had a $10 off coupon as well. All good things in my book and it made having to buy a new Fitbit a little easier. One thing I did learn, when you need to buy a new fitbit, remember to turn off all the alarms on the old one lol. I ended up having 3 alarms going on on Wednesday morning, which at least I didn’t have to worry about sleeping though my alarm.

Wednesday and Thursday were both much better days for me so the mid to end of the week got better. Other then last night I had to make the decision to not travel to my Aunt and Uncles after my infusion today because of the weather. We made a plan to visit then in April so I look forward to that already. It was definitely a disappointment thought because I was really looking forward to spending sometime with them because its been over a year now since the last time we were able to travel to them.

Today was infusion day, it was right away in the morning and I actually stayed awake and watched movies with the hubby the whole time. We both decided to still take the days off since it was planned that way anyways. While I would have much rather been on the road to MN, it was nice to have some extra time to spend with my hubby and working on my crafting.

Monday I did not do well with embracing the unexpected right away but I was able to find something to be grateful in in the moment which I am proud of myself for. Tuesday I embraced they fact that I knew my run was not going to be effective so changed it to a different workout to stay on track with working out 6 days a week.

What I consider to be my huge win for the week is even with having to change days I ran, I am still sticking with my training of running 3 days a week. Today I didn’t have time to do the full 4.5 miles, but I did have time to do 30-40 minutes on the treadmill and got 3.2 miles in which is way better then nothing. With trying to embrace the unexpected of my plans changing I am embracing that I was able to spend this evening cleaning and writing. I also am embracing that I will not be able to get my scheduled run in on Saturday and not have to do it when we got home on Sunday.

I am a constant work in progress, and focusing on embracing all the things that come my way is helping me to try and find things to be grateful in all the moments. It is not easy, but each time I practicing embracing hard things, unexpected things and so on the easier it will become and the more I will focus on things to be grateful for.

I am excited, I ordered a bracelet with the word EMBRACE on it from http://www.myintent.org. It is not here yet, but I am so excited for it to get here so I can have that reminder on my wrist at all times to embrace anything that comes my way.

Embrace 2020

 

Fear · Uncategorized

Embrace Fear

kimberlyvaniperenLeave a comment

Did you set a New Years resolution?

I heard this from a few different people that only 8% of people who sets goals for themselves in a new year succeed. When you think of how many people set goals each year that is not many.

I feel I can say with a large amount of confidence, that people have the best of intentions and truly want to make there change that will impact their lives for the better. Why do you think it is, that people have the best of intentions starting a new year and then they fail?

For me it comes down to fear. Whether it be fear of change, fear that someone will judge you, fear you will fail or fear of the unknown. Feeling fear is enough to completely stop anyone from reaching their goals.

I know even myself, I am feeling fear right now as I type this this post. Wondering if this will resinate with anyone. Will someone make fun of me. How many people will judge me because of all the errors I am sure are in this post. I mean I did score high on writing test when I was in high school but that was years ago.

I am choosing to push through this fear. 1. Because I truly do enjoy writing (especially on my new computer) and 2. Because I feel like their is someone out there who needs to hear this message right now. Fear can either hold you back or drive you to be stronger. I am choosing to use it to fuel me to be in that 8% of people that reach their goals in 2020.

My girl, Rachel Hollis, says you can only focus on one dream at a time. While I 100% believe in that, I do have a few things I am focusing on right now and why I think I can make it all work it 2020.

Some of the things I vision for 2020 are this:

  1. Training for my half marathon
  2. Drinking more water
  3. Getting more sleep
  4. Eating all the veggies
  5. Completing craft projects
  6. Reading 1 book a month
  7. Keeping my house clean
  8. Saving money
  9. Paying off debt
  10. Writing my book (side note, this is very scary for me to even put in this post to share with the world)

Here is why I feel this is not too ambitious for me, some of these items go together. I have run a half marathon before and since I have worked out 6 days a week for a while I have already built the fitness habit. This does not mean it is not challenging, it is completely challenging adding running in, trying to get the right amount of training miles done and improve. I have a ways to go but I do have until the end of April so I will get there.

My half marathon, as I said above is in April. That means I only have that for about 3-4 months of 2020. I will continue fitness and running but less miles. Adding items is a little easier for me then removing. I have increased my water and try to make sure at every meal I have a serving of veggies. They are both health related and how I stay motivated to do this is because I feel so much better when I do.

I am crazy about sleep. I aim to get 7.5 hours of sleep every night. Since I get up around 4:30am weekday mornings that does sometimes mean by 7:30-8:00pm I am in bed sleeping. Now I know some week nights I do not get that accomplished. This week some unexpected things came up and since it was bible study week, which is a priority for me, I didn’t get to bed early that night either. It is just all about balance and if I get to bed early most nights of the week, when I go to bet a little later a night here or there it is still manageable. I do try to sleep in on the weekends, but usually my fur babies have my awake by 5:30am if I am lucky. I have transitioned to a morning person over the years so for the most part I do not mind.

The paying off debt and savings kind of go together. I have medical issues so I know my medical bills will cost a lot each year so putting that money in savings right away helps a ton. I do need to cut back on the shopping, but I do also save a lot of money too. My husband and I have a budget for the bills and that also allows us to focus on one bill and pay extra. Some times unexpected bills come up and they extra money goes to that but that is okay. I am just so grateful we have both the money to pay for those unexpected things and for my medical bills out of pocket. It is sad to me sometimes to know my savings is just for that but that is just what I have to expect. Being a person with medical issues it is better to be prepared that way and plan for.

The reading, cleaning and crafting I am putting into the “self care” category so to me that is a easy goal to work on. I have my cleaning that I have to do nightly, with 3 cats in the house and 1 outside they need food and litter boxes scooped daily. I am talking some of the deep cleaning you only get to maybe once a year if your lucky. That I plan to set a side 1-2 nights a week to work on one of them. So some nights it will be I clean something when I have a spare hour, the next night I plan to craft and so on. I also have been taking my crafting with when my husband shoots pool (yep I crochet in a bar lol). This way, I still get to spend quality time with my husband, we tend to make it a date and usually get food before/after and then he practices while I work on my hobby. It actually has been working out great doing and helped me to get some crafting done and not feeling guilty because I should be cleaning. I also only have a couple projects with true “deadlines” which means I can take my time and just enjoy the activity that is relaxing to me.

This is also how I plan to write my book, okay so maybe not taking my laptop with while he shoots pool. Although, that thought has crossed my mind. It has helped that I have a functional laptop again and can take it places if I choose too. I will also set aside time in the mornings or evening during the week and weekends to write. I have a goal to get it finished this year. I still need to work out the logistics of editing and publishing, but if I don’t write the book there will be no need for those items. Once I have a book that is when I will worry about that.

That got long so let me recap really quick. Fear can either hold you back or move you forward. I am choosing, this year to Embrace (my word for this year) fear and have it move me forward. I believe with planning and building habits anything is possible. My gaol list may look long but many of this items work together and I know when I drink my water, eat all the veggies and get all the sleep I have energy to do all of the things. It actually makes me feel like I have more time in my day!

I hope you are having a great 2020 so far and I want you to be in that 8% of people who reach their goals this year!

Embrace Fear!

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Money, Savings and Cash Back

kimberlyvaniperenLeave a comment

Who doesn’t like to save money right? I felt with it being the first week of the New Year, this would be the perfect time for a post like this. I wanted to list our a few apps that I use to save money, get cash back or get gift cards by saving up points.

I have been using some of these for a while now, and one I have not used much but I am starting to use more. I have gotten many items from doing this anything from my under cabinet radio (yes I still have a house radio with a CD player lol), my wine fridge, saved up to buy a Ninja Foodi. I have gotten smaller things such as Fitbit bands and water bottles as well. Right now I am currently saving up points and gift cards to purchase a Ninja Grill, since it is an item that I do not NEED just WANT, I have to save up the money to purchase such a big item.

So lets get too it!

Rakuten Ebats:

I have had this account for a while, it was know as Ebats the last time I used it. I got reminded of it while watching Christmas movies on the Hallmark channel. This one I always thought was a little more work to use. There is an app or you can use it on a desktop computer which ever you prefer. You go to the site, sign up for an account and then you can search for whatever store you want and it will tell you how much cash back they are offering. The cash back does change so sometimes you could get more then others.

There is also an option of you linking debit/credit cards to the account. If you choose to do this, there are some stores that offer cash back for in-store purchase. You do have to activate it before going to the store so that is the part that takes a little bit of work. The first place I remembered to do this too was for PetSmart which was huge for me with having to buy food and litter for 4 cats.

I started focusing on this site about a month ago and I am already up to about $10 cash back. The money comes in the form of a check and they pay I believe quarterly, I do know my next Big Fat Check, as they call it, will come in Feb. 2020.

Shopkick

This one is my favorite by far. This app you get points and when you reach a certain amount you can get a gift card. Right now my points goal is 6250 and I have it set to get a $25 Bed Bath and Beyond card so I can use it towards my grill. I am on the 2nd gift card I have gotten from them. I have not found the points to expire and the gift cards do not have an expiration date.

There are a few ways to get points.

  • Walkins: The app shows the stores that are participating and when you walk by the specific store with the app open it picks it up and gives you points. I know Target is one of them and sometimes you just have to drive by the door of the store to get the points. Pro tip for anyone who does online pick up 🙂
  • Scanning: The app will have a list of stores and some of these stores if you go in and scan items you get points for that. Sometimes you do have to answer a few question survey but it is usually only a few questions. Some items if you do purcahse them and submit a receipt you get bonus points. I have not done that part so not sure exactly how it works.
  • Online: The app has an online shopping option as well. You clink on the store and it take you to the site. I have started doing this with my Walmart groceries since I get them every week. It does recognize right away you placed an order but it does take 90 days to process and get points. I have about 6 of them waiting right now so starting in Feb. they should all start coming in and I can update on how that process works.
  • Watching videos: On the main screen of the app they have options to gain points to watch a short 2-3 minute video. There is also a spot to preview sales and sometime they have secret points hiding.

This one is my favorite because even lately I have put very little effort into it, it may take a little longer to add the points up but the reward is worth it. Plus, I am not having to but anything special I can just watch a video, scan some items if I happen to be in the store and watch the points increase.

Achievement

This one is a little different. I was told about this one a few years ago, and when I signed up I was on a waiting list for a few months. I have had it now for about 3.5 years. This is another one you don’t really have to do anything with. It is a points system and you can link other apps you use and when you use the apps you get achievement points. I get the majority of my points from my Fitbit app. When it traks my workouts, heart rate and sleep. There are occasionally quizzes and other things for additional points.

The reward is $10 and you get your choice, I can’t think of them all off the top of my head because I usually just get a Amazon gift card. I know $10 doesn’t seem like much but you literally don’t have to do anything extra to get the points so it is the easiest $10 I have made. I have gotten a few of them since I started and it is kind of fun to get a little gift for myself occasionally. I got a water bottle once and I think I bought a book the other time. I am very close to getting my next reward.

Cashback on credit cards

I am not big on using credit cards because I don’t like having a balance on them. We do have some automatic bills that have to come out so we link them to the credit card. Life sometimes happens too and we do have to put some big expenses on the card and then we pay them off right away. This also helps us to build up rewards points.

The rewards I have had to use before to pay the credit card bill but sometimes I have gotten fun things with them. I for my radio and wine fridge using the points. I also got gift cards and that is what helped buy my Ninja Foodi and even get all new decorations for my bathroom. We have 2 main credit cards and the one I will use to get the gift card and the other I will just use the cash back to pay for the bill.

I know some people who have used the points to get cards and other gift for presents, for Christmas for example, which is also a great idea. I usually find something I want and this is how I get them. I save up all the gift cards and rewards so we end up paying nothing or very little.

Weekly savings chart

One last thing I want to mention is a savings chart. I saw this a few years ago and did it once. I will admit, once it got to the end of the year it got more challenging and I did not actually finish the chart but I had saved up a large amount that we used to help pay for one of our vacations. It is a plan that I found on Pinterest, you save the amount of money to what week of the year it is. Example: week 1 is $1, week 2 is $2 and so on. So by the end of the year it has all built up and is around $1100. I am going to try it again this year and see how it goes.

I also set a side $20 each paycheck for our vacation. This year I am adding a little more being a nurse I have license renewals to do every few year so now I set up a savings plan so when they come due I have the money and it doesn’t impact the budget at that time.

We do have a budget set up, but since my husband and I have separate accounts as well as the joint accounts it makes it a little easier. Each check I transfer money to the joint account for bills and for savings right away so I don’t miss the money. I have been doing this for a while now and it has gone very well and I am very blessed that we are able to pay for my medical bills from my savings account. I meet my out of pocket max every year so it makes it easy to know how much it will cost for me. Having the money on hand, I am able to call and pay my bill in full and get a discount on the bill. So I save money there and I also put it on the credit card which I pay off immediately but that transaction help me to build up points.

I hope this was helpful. I am not an expert at all when it comes to finance, I have just learned a lot from my husband and our financial planner says we are on the right track so that is something.

Even if you don’t use any of these apps or strategies I mentioned above maybe you will check them out and see if it would be something for you. I know some of them are some work and it does take some time for the rewards to build up but since it doesn’t cost much it is worth it to me. The best part for me is I have not put a ton of work into getting these rewards and it hasn’t cost my anything. If I know my family won’t use the item I don’t buy it and if I don’t need to but something online I don’t buy it just for the rewards. If I need to purchase an item I just check the apps quick to see if there is a cash back opportunity.

Let me know below if you like a post like this and I can certainly create more like this. Hope you at least learned a little something new and happy shopping.

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New Year, New Word

kimberlyvaniperenLeave a comment

It is hard to believe today is New Years Day and its now 2020! I started this post by writing out things that have happened to me in the last decade. Then I realize how many things that was and got a little nervous it would both get too long and I would miss something and be sad. So, I decided to change the directions a little bit in a good way.

I do want to take just a min to highlight a few large milestones for me. I became and RN and got married to my amazing husband. I also finished my BSN degree, I actually finished my last class while recovering from the surgery they found my cancer. One day after my diagnosis my dad was out on hospice and passed away during my treatment. I ended up beating cancer and now 5 years in remission. We also paid a few loans off including both of my school loans which felt amazing. I have learned many new skills and even hiked a mountain in Glacier. We have now fallen in love with Montana and can see a future living there. We went from 3 to 4 kitties as well as in the last decade we added our baby Bailey to our family which keeps us on our toes for sure. She is a huge mommy’s girl and can be naughty but can be so sweet.

That is a very brief overview of 10 years. I have started a list of my memories and plan to keep adding to it so at the next decade I will have a better idea of all the amazing things I have accomplished. It was really cool looking back on the last 10 years and the good and bad times that have shaped and made me the person that I am today. Although bad times are never fun, a person can never truly grow with out them and I am choosing to embrace them as part of my story.

Speaking of embrace it brings me to the other thing I wanted to write about. 2019 was the first year that I picked a word to define my year. My word in 2019 was Joy. While I wish I could say that I 100% of the time found joy in everything and was happy that is not real. I can say this, there were sometimes that I did say Yes to certain things because I knew they would bring me joy, and No so other things that I knew would not bring me as much joy.

For 2020 my word is going to be Embrace. I was struggling to find a word and then the other night, I work up and the word just came to me. I took that as a sign that it should be my word for 2020. After really thinking about it, it is a great word. I tried it with a punch of other words such as:

  • Embrace Chaos
  • Embrace Change
  • Embrace the suck
  • Embrace the pain
  • Embrace the journey

It seemed to go so well with so many different things and even seemed to make some of the hard things easier to handle. It fit perfect so that is my word going into this year and my goal for it is to put it into everything I do this year.

I encourage you, if you have not yet or like me last year never picked a word pick one. Make sure it is a word that you can take with you the whole year and help you grow and become the best version of you in 2020. You really can do anything you dream of with hard work and determination.

Happy New Year!!