Monday

July is winding down. That's so hard to believe, and also to accept. I'm already beginning to experience the anticipatory grief of saying goodbye to summer's more relaxed pace. Yet, if I pause for a moment and take a step back in time, I remember the excitement I felt towards my classes this past year, and trust that my energy and zeal will spark once again as Fall semester gets underway. Yes, there are many stressful moments trying to balance the workload; but, ultimately, the challenge is well worth the struggle.

I worked a little more this weekend on my ongoing personal goal to "organize" my living space. Tried to tame the pile of papers that accumulated on my desk over the last month or so--and happily was able to find my desktop once again. My greatest accomplishment this weekend (in terms of personal satisfaction) was getting the shelves installed in my bathroom, so at last I was able to tame the chaos in that room.

Since I seem to be someone who functions most effectively on the basis of "deadlines," I am hoping that my awareness of the fact that there is only a month left of summer will inspire me to kick things into high gear and begin tackling more of my "to do list" before my free time runs out. I still have more organizing to do in my bedroom and office, and the entire house is in need of a super good cleaning before my semester begins.

I also recently began a food diary of sorts, as an approach to trying to follow a healthy, well-balanced diet. I am using FitDay, a free online diet and weight loss journal. It offers a number of components, but right now I am focusing on the food journal--it allows me to enter all the foods and beverages I eat in a given day, and I am then able to see how many carbs, proteins, fats, etc. I am getting as well as what percentage of the recommended daily allowance for various vitamins and minerals I have acquired for that day. So, as the day goes on I can notice I still need more calcium before the day is through; therefore, I might have a glass of milk before I go to bed. I have found the experience very insightful as I have had to look more carefully at the vitamins and minerals that are found in all the varieties of food I eat, and it encourages me to look for the ones that provide more nutrients (instead of paying attention to a more simplistic approach that looks only at fat, carbs, calories, etc.).

Since I feel that I am doing a good job maintaining a healthier diet, I still want (and need!) to incorporate more physical activity into my everyday life. That's something else that I hope to jump start before the summer is over, since work and school will demand a lot of my time in the fall, and both call for lots of sitting! If I don't get into the habit of exercising before the time contstraints kick in, then I fear a bleak outlook on sticking with the exercise plan.