Goal 6: Read what you want to read.

 Good reads is a brilliant application on Facebook where you can share your readings with others. I keep track of my reading there as often as I can. As I have no doubt blogged about previously one of the books I am reading is The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin and one of my favorite ideas that I have taken away from it is to "be gretchen" as she puts it. Too often in life we do things that don't make us happy because they interest others and we think they should also interest us. I love books... all books... and I don't mind people thinking of me as bookish especially as I am sure to relate to Rachel coven's new female lead. She states: "I particularly loved the adjective bookish, which I found other people used about as often as ramrod or chum or teetotaler."Dash & Lily's Book of Dares. One thing I did mind until I read the happiness project was my tendancy to lean towards children's literature. It always made me feel like a silly little girl. I love fairy tales and as a college student I was expected to read literature all of the time and put away my childish endeavors so I read the great BFG with my son and smiled quietly to myself. However, from now on I plan to "Be Kari" and let my love of children's literature continue to capture my imagination for years to come...
As Gretchen quotes this was even the view of C.S. Lewis who said "When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I become a man I put away childish things, including the fare of childishness and the desire to be very grown up".

Goal 6: Day 1

A Photo of me:

I don't know if it was the clothes... the hair... the makeup... or the fact that I was surrounded by people I loved but when this picture was taken I felt beautiful!

Goal 6: Have fun.

Thanks to my friend Kari ( yes we do have the same name) I found a challenge to post 30 days of pictures that looks like this... so just like almost everyone else I know has. I now have to try and do it.

Day 1: A photo of you.

Day 2: A photo of yourself when you were a baby

Day 3: A photo that makes you happy.

Day 4: A photo of a place you'd like to visit.

Day 5: A photo that makes you laugh.

Day 6: A photo of someone you love.

Day 7: A photo of something you stand for.

Day 8: A photo of something you enjoy doing.

Day 9: A photo of yourself at least a year ago.

Day 10: Any photo you like for any reason.

Day 11: A photo of a night you loved.

Day 12: A photo of when you were happy.

Day 13: A photo of one of your favorite movies.

Day 14: A photo of your best friend (s).

Day 15: A photo of you and a family member.

Day 16: A photo from your childhood.

Day 17: A photo from a trip you'll never forget.

Day 18: A photo of your town.

Day 19: A photo of your favorite thing from school.

Day 20: A photo of something you ate today.

Day 21: A photo of somebody you find attractive.

Day 22: A photo that you associate a good memory with.

Day 23: A photo of something you want to do someday.

Day 24: A photo of what you want to be when you grow up.

Day 25: A photo that inspires you.

Day 26: A photo of your favorite subject in school.

Day 27: A photo of something you are looking forward to.

Day 28: A photo of something/somebody that made your day.

Day 29: A photo of your favorite person from history.

Day 30: A photo you find beautiful.

Goal 2: Music

I don't know about you but I cannot workout without music. I just do not possess the ability to enjoy the sound of my sneakers on the treadmill. I have been wanting to make a new workout playlist for a while and have put it off thinking it would be too much work but yesterday I got on the treadmill and could not listen to Avril Lavinge again without gagging. I thought about it long and hard and came up with a solution, I would take all the songs I knew worked to pump me up from my old playlist and mix them with the zumba music from class that I can't get enough of. This is the end result:

1. Let's get it started   Black eyed peas   
2. Zumba Mami - Reggaeton  Zumba Fitness Vibe Tribe         
3. Just Dance  Lady GaGa & Colby O'Donis    The Fame   
4. Don't Cha The Pussycat Dolls & Busta Rhymes  
5. So What   P!nk         
6. This Is Tha Song - Hip Hop    Zumba Fitness    Party Nation   
7. Whip My Hair      Willow   
8. Zumbalicious  Salsa / Reggaeton    Zumba Fitness    Cardio Party Soundtrack   
9. Dynamite     Taio Cruz           
10. push it     The Diplomats    
11. Cumbia Jam - Cumbia     Zumba Fitness    Party Nation
12. 'Cuz I Can   P!nk    
13. One, Two Step (feat. Missy Elliott)    Ciara      
14. what you waiting for Gwen Steffani   
15. Only Girl (In the World)  Rihanna   
16. Work It   Missy Elliott    
17. M!ssundaztood       P!nk    
18. Can't Get You out of My Head      Kylie Minogue   
19. Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) [The Official 2010 FIFA World Cup Song]Shakira   
20. Sahara Oasis - Belly Dance     Zumba Fitness    Party Nation

Yep. I know it's all over the place but that's why it's my music.... go out and find your beat!

Goal 4: Eat real food.

This is a goal I have been working on for a while and that I still struggle with from time to time. I firmly believe that frozen junk food and take-out are loaded with unnecessary garbage and the numbers don't lie. When I eat it I gain weight no matter what. So, I have been taking up cooking again in an attempt to keep myself from failing to pay attention to what exactly I am stuffing my face with. Here is my current favorite recipe in the world. It is very yummy and easy to make. I made it in about a half an hour off things I just happened to have in my house. It is called a quick quiche.

Goal 5: The importance of play on a parents psyche.

Alright, you just got home from work or errands... You're beat and you have to have dinner on the table in an hour then a shower and you have to go to bed to start the grind all over. Suddenly a wonderful opportunity to de-stress presents it's self. Your ___ year old son/daughter comes up to you and asks you to play the newest video game in their collection or tea party. Do you...

1. Explain to them nicely that you are a grown up with grown up things to do and send them on their way? (Kill peter pan... go ahead... who needs em anyway)
2. Yell at them about wasting time and make them set the table? (If mama/papa aint happy)
3. Postpone them as long as possible so you can get something done? ( As is that one thing will ever be finished and it won't splinter into 100 other things and suck out your soul)
4. Drop everything and play? (remembering that we only get a few years when they want to play with us) 

Let's think about this logically and research it.
Logically as an adult you have very important and time consuming tasks to get done and tea parties seem like a waste of time but it is suggested often that in order to relieve stress you should let your inner child out. These suggestions are great and I agree that as a child coping strategies come naturally and it is good to embrace them again as an adult.  I would just take it a step farther and add that if you have kids you should do the things they want to do and see if they rub off on you. My guess is when you are outside at the swing set you will trigger good memories which induce a better mood and create new ones you can access down the line. Also, it is easier to remember how to be silly when you have a pro around to show you how.

Goal 5: family first even when they're not all with you.

As most of the world knows my daughter visits us during the summer which is consequently my favorite time of the year. This year however my daughter will be here and my husband will not. His work is taking him far away for the summer and I am heartbroken. I think that I have figured out that being a stay at home mom was definitely what my family needed though. I could not imagine how my kids or husband would have handled this on their own.
It is now my full-time job to consul and encourage which won't change until he comes back home.  I will take my son to sports practices, play video games and read dragon tales. I will work out and clean and stay busy and when my daughter gets here and my husband leaves I will write, take pictures, and miss my husband terribly all the while helping my kids to have the happy summer they need and deserve.
I went to a meeting today all about the struggles families have when they have to be long distance and I realized that we will all be okay because we have done it already. We spend six months out of the year on the phone with my daughter and we still love our fractured little family just as much. I am so blessed to have a husband who works so hard to provide for us and children who can light up even the darkest day.