Promises I'm Making for June

June is always a busy month.  The kids are newly home for the summer, there are umpteen birthdays starting the last week of May (8 total), and somehow a new season always spurs many new projects.  It will be hard to hold myself to promises but I plan to keep as many as I possibly can.  And if you want to check how I did in May, then look right here at the updates. 

1.  I promise to find something nice and cool and comfortable to wear around the house.  I've been wearing jeans and t-shirts which is fine for the cooler days of spring but now that we're in the hotter days?  Nope!  I have some 'capris' I bought last summer that fit badly then and don't fit any better now.  They were actually made for someone about 4 feet 5 inches not 5 feet 3 inches.  And the size tag is a straight up liar.  I crammed into them last year but this year, I'm not planning to be that uncomfortable.

I've decided this year the answer will be Cotton.  Cotton capris, cotton dresses, cotton skirts. Or so I hope.  I've ordered one pair of capri pants and one dress.  Fingers crossed.  Done...and ordered a second dress just like it but in green

2.  I promise to add four new healthy habits to my life.  

A. Hydration is an issue for me.  I tend to jump right from bed to grab coffee.  I'm going to change that up by starting my day with a tall glass of water with lemon.  I'll give myself a 95% on this one.

B. Return to intermittent fasting.  It worked for me last Spring/Summer to lose a bit of weight, but I dropped it when I started keeping Caleb because John wanted me to eat breakfast with him each morning before I left.  I don't much blame him.  Honestly, we'd been eating breakfast together for the past 33 years.  I enjoyed that time with him and I have no regrets.

But now, well there's no one waiting to have breakfast with me.  I've pretty much kept up with not eating after a set time each evening except on very rare occasions.  So I think I can easily re-incorporate this into my life. Done.

C.  Morning sun in my eyes for 10 minutes every morning.  I'm usually up around 7am at the latest and more frequently as early as 6:30. Even on muggy mornings it's not too hot to catch that first sun and sit listening to the birds.  85%

D. Cut way back on sugar free soda.  I drink water most of the day but after a bit I want something different and in my mind that often relates to a fizzy soda.  However, I've been sipping unsweetened iced tea lately and rediscovered the peach tea I used to love, and I find it very refreshing.  And there are pro-biotic, low sugar fizzy drinks these days as well.  I'm not giving up my Diet Dr. Pepper entirely, but I think I can happily find a better alternative 6 days a week.  Done

3. I promise to make a list of all the things I want to do, buy, etc.  I have mental lists but it's not the same thing as a readable list.  Once I have a list, or lists, I can begin the actual work of assessing what I need and what I can do. Lists also will allow me to keep my eyes open for things I need to complete a space/project if anything goes on sale or is found unexpectedly.  Nope

4.  I promise to tackle one outdoor project and one indoor project.  Focus, focus, focus. I can do anything if I'm focused. My idea is that I'll work in one space, on one project and do all I can do in a month's time.  Or if I find that the next step is too far out of reach, then I'll do all I can and move on to the next space/project.  I don't mind things that require time.  I just want to see some progress!  Sigh....

5.  I promise to return to writing morning pages and working through The Artist's Way.  I couldn't do either of those things when John passed away, but I think I'm ready to return to both of these now.  Journalling is a beneficial thing for me, and it's time I made it a habit once more.  I'm ready to focus on things besides legal matters (mostly all done) and sorting through John's personal things.  Done

6.  I promise to have fun.  Not just with the grandkids though we do intend to do the summer reading program (at least they plan to here at the start), but also to have my own sort of fun.  Getting out to visit antique shops and taking short day trips to places I've always wanted to see here in my own state, reading once more, seeing a movie, maybe sit under my own sprinkler if it gets terribly hot.  Whatever I think might be fun to do.  Thankfully my idea of fun overall is wholesome things. I'd say I struggled but my June journal tells me differently.

7.  I promise I will see as many sunsets as I can this month.  I have a tendency to shut the blinds, lock up the house, and close out the world at large well before sunset most evenings but this month, I'm going to try to remember that daylight lasts longer for only a short portion of the year and this is it.  I don't want to waste the opportunity to see a single summer sunset.  Only one evening of awesome color, but I've seen as many as cloudy skies allowed.

8.  I promise I will enjoy the 'fruits' of summer.   This time of year, there is so much good fresh produce, fruits and vegetables and they aren't available at any other time of the year.  I've already had my first peach.  Never again will I make myself wait until mid to late June before I enjoy peaches. 

Sam's garden is already starting to produce and he's more than willing to share.  I've had my first zucchini, and he's got yellow squash coming in as well.  Another farm stand is advertising their first peas of the season.

Good seasonal foods are one of the things I enjoy embracing all year round.  And many a summer has ended with me realizing that I haven't had some item or other that I can only get in summer.  Not this year.  I buy fresh produce anyway, so why not what's in season instead of what I'm just in the habit of purchasing year-round?

But not just foods...Summer has so much to offer that is only here this time of year.  Like sitting under a sprinkler, or watching fireflies in the evening, wandering around the yard deadheading and watering plants, just sitting and soaking in some sun, picnics, fireworks, etc.  There are lots of things to enjoy this time of year and why miss out on any of it?  NO....

9.  I promise to buy at least four perennial plants for the planters or yard this month.  I'm never going to be able to have that pretty yard I so desire if I don't start working on it!  And in order to get started, I need plants.  No....

10.  I promise to continue to keep my promise to make no big buying decisions...but I've made one exception. I've just ordered a new mattress.  Too many nights being uncomfortable and waking up in pain and feeling unrested are behind me.  John and I knew we needed a new mattress, and we kept putting off the purchase.  After finally admitting I wasn't sleeping well because of the discomfort of the mattress, I dumped all the pillows I had piled on his side of the bed and slept smack in the middle, only to discover the middle had such a narrow strip of firmness that I sort of 'fell' right back into the slumpy sagging side.  Yes...but I spent enough without buying anything big courtesy car maintenance, etc.

Enough.  It's foolish to wait another full year before buying what I know we'd planned to replace because we were both uncomfortable.