Me & My Quite Contrary Life

NUDGED: "Wear a baseball hat" BACKSTORY: I liked wearing baseball hats when I was a teenager. I was still trying to find my unique style, and hats were a part of my fashion experimentation. I stopped wearing hats when I went off to college, ironically during the years I bought the most baseball hats - school pride!! This nudge was a challenge to go back in time to see how adult me likes a style choice of teenage me. Women wearing baseball hats have become very stylish these days. Would the look work for me still or would I find it too uncomfortable? QUOTE: "If you wear things you adore, you just look better." - Margherita Missoni HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK:  Great timing for this nudge! I just received a new "Resisterhood" baseball hat in the mail last week and looked forward to wearing it proudly. The "Resisterhood" is a worldwide women's movement that fights fear and oppression, and is led by Jen Hatmaker. She posted a picture on her s...

NUDGED: "Throw something out" BACKSTORY: For the past year, I have been decluttering our house. I have gone from area to area, through every storage space, drawer and cabinet, and getting rid of items I don't need or use. My physical space feels better as a result, but it made this nudge more difficult! What else can I get rid of when I have already purged so much? I am very sentimental too and struggle to get rid of things, even things that should have been tossed a long time ago. This nudge challenged me to reconsider ALL of my things and to let go. QUOTE: "Keep only those things that speak to your heart. Then take the plunge and discard all the rest. By doing this, you can reset your life and embark on a new lifestyle." - Marie Kondo, "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing" (good book!!) HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: I watch our dog Coco utilize her purposeful, tunnel-vision focus when she searches...

NUDGED: "Floss daily" BACKSTORY: An instruction to floss more seems to be said at every dental cleaning. I have no problem brushing my teeth twice a day, but the habit of flossing regularly has always eluded me. This is something I want to work on and this nudge will help me to do it! QUOTE: "Each tooth has five surfaces. If you don't floss, you are leaving at least two of the surfaces unclean. Floss is the only thing that can really get into that space between the teeth and remove bacteria." - Alla Wheeler, RDH, MPA HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: I was laying in bed the first night when I realized I didn't floss! Although tired and ready to fall asleep, I got up and flossed. It only took a few minutes and gave me a sense of accomplishment afterward. The next morning, I put my floss container on top of my toothpaste so I wouldn't forget. I realized part of my problem with flossing is that I just forget - the container is hidden in my drawer so I don...

NUDGED: "Increase my online presence" BACKSTORY: I maintain a minimal online presence, commenting on posts as necessary and staying silent in most online groups. It's not that I don't have things to say - I do! So why don't I post more? What would happen if I am more active on social media websites? Would I feel more connected and fulfilled, or would I find it a hassle to interrupt my life to put updates online? That's what I wanted to figure out this week!  QUOTE: HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: My work on this nudge happened little by little each day this week. I commented on more FB statuses than usual, posted a picture with a recent happening on FB, changed my profile and cover photos, offered encouragement and support on posts to online groups, commented on a blog for a popular author I admire (and got a response!!), updated the appearance of my blog, posted a new blog post mid-week about books, posted two new pictures to Instagram, made a public commen...

Me again! I'm back again to write about something I really enjoy - BOOKS! I can't resist a good used book sale and love getting book recommendations from trusted sources (which I purchase online soon after!). I'm even starting to use the library more often, which makes my budget happy! Years ago, I found myself with stacks of books I hadn't read and was running out of space. My bookshelf was completely overwhelmed. I made a goal in 2015 that I would read every book I owned, and have been working steadily towards my goal since. I have read just under 200 books since then (what?!) including 47 books I've finished this year. HOORAY FOR GOALS AND READING! However, I still have many more to go....and I keep buying more! After a book I own is finished, I decide to keep it forever or get rid of it. Only the best of the best books get a place on my bookshelf and will be kept. Other books I didn't like or don't feel I would read again are given away, donated, or ...

NUDGED: "Forgive 5 people" BACKSTORY:  The first word out of my mouth when I saw this week's nudge was "no". Forgiveness is very hard for me as I usually hold on to a grudge until it starts to rot my soul and I have to deal with it (ha!). I felt lots of resistance in completing this week's nudge, so I put out the call for prayers. They were felt and much appreciated! This nudge has been a long-time goal to work on, but something I never get around to doing. It has been on my radar for some time though, as evidenced by numerous saved sermon notes, magazine articles, lists of situations/people to forgive, and book notes on forgiveness, as well as a prayer book bookmarked on the forgiveness section. Good information is everywhere yet I refuse to go through the process that I know will make me feel better. Why? It's hard. It's uncomfortable. I would rather ignore it than go through the hard work. Why 5 people? It seemed like a do-able number to c...

NUDGED: "Connect with someone I haven't talked to in over 6 months" BACKSTORY: Last year, I reached out to a childhood friend that I hadn't seen in over a decade, and we went out for breakfast and caught up. It was a little uncomfortable at first going through the "what happened to you after high school?" questions but the more we talked, the more we found familiar ground. We reminisced on the "good old days" (ha!) and how life was turning out, and encouraged each other on our journeys. It was so awesome to see the girl I played dolls with as a child turned out to be an incredible, confident woman who is changing the world. I am so proud of her! I added this nudge to my list as a way to connect to other people who have impacted my life, who I lost touch with for whatever reason. Throughout my life, my path has been crossed with special people and they have shaped who I am today, although some people were in my life for just a short time. I am ...

NUDGED: "Rearrange clothing drawers" BACKSTORY: This nudge suggestion came from a family member (thanks!) and was an opportunity to switch items around between drawers. I am accustomed to reaching for things absentmindedly when getting ready in the mornings, not really considering what I have. It also gave me a chance to purge unneeded clutter. Win! QUOTE: "Try to see things differently. It's the only way to get a clearer perspective on the world and on your life." - Neal Shusterman HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK:  My hubs and I completed home renovation improvements this past spring, which included painting kitchen cabinets blue, new wood flooring and wood stairs instead of carpet, new paint on most of the walls, and updating some items. These were big changes that really improved how our home felt and we love how it all turned out, even though it was an adjustment. After those big changes, it's hard to compare rearranging dresser drawers to that level of c...

NUDGED: "Wear fun nail color for one week" BACKSTORY: I found myself painting again this week, on my fingernails this time instead of canvas. The idea for this nudge came from the project founder's past nudge of " wear red lipstick every day ". I challenged myself to wear a bright, fun color on my fingernails for a week, something I haven't done for a very long time. It would be visible to others and be a great reminder to me to get out of my comfort zone. HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: I admit that my first instinct was to paint a subtle, soft color like a light (barely visible!) pink. Not bold enough! My other options included a bright blue, Vikings purple, or bright red. I chose red in honor of the red lipstick challenge referenced above, and painted them on Sunday to display the color for a full week. RED! I had to be careful at work all week after I discovered that they could leave light red marks on white paper. I also had to get used to them ...

NUDGED: "Paint a picture" BACKSTORY: The excuses not to complete this nudge started soon after I saw the task for the week. That really surprised me as I always enjoyed being creative and crafty when I was younger, expressing myself through painting, coloring, drawing and writing. I currently have all the supplies to paint, but never get around to actually creating something. Why? My reasons for why I can't paint a picture right now: I'm not a good artist (perfectionist!). I don't want to waste good supplies that I may use later. I don't want to make a mess. I don't know what to make. There isn't a purpose for the artwork right now - what am I going to do with it when I'm done? QUOTE: "Art offers sanctuary to everyone willing to open their hearts as well as their eyes," said Nikki Giovanni. HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: I gave myself permission to create something, even if it looks awful, to see how I felt while doing it. It is okay t...

NUDGED: "Try a new recipe" BACKSTORY: Our meals have become very routine - my husband and I eat the same things in a rotation each week. It's food that we are comfortable with and it tastes good. Occasionally I mix in a new recipe I find online, but those "new" dishes are usually the same type of meals we normally eat - one pot dinners, casseroles, or crockpot meals. It was time to add more excitement, variation, and thought into our meal planning! QUOTE: "The life of faith is inherently a life of risk," said Pastor Phill of Ransom Church in his sermon this week. I desire all my "nudges" to be done in faith, with God's guidance in selecting the perfect nudge I need each week and His help to complete it. Risk is a part of faith and a big part of this project! HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK:  Always the overachiever, I made 5 new recipes this week. GOLD STAR FOR ME! The recipes were all things I wouldn't normally make, so it challenge...

Mid-week check in! I am working on my latest "nudge" and having fun while doing it (along with being challenged!!). It has definitely given me new insights....more to come on that! I am so blessed to have so much support with this project. It keeps coming up in conversations (okay, so I may be excited and bring it up!) and each time I come away with new ideas and support. No one has told me I am crazy for trying this (yet!). I love it when the response I get is, "you know what I've always wanted to do but have been too afraid..." Great ideas! Each time, I write down the new idea on a small piece of paper, crumple it up, and add it to the box. Each Sunday, I pick a task from the box and implement it that week. With all the great ideas from other people, ideas from the original author of the project, ideas from books I'm reading, and more ideas that randomly pop into my head, I had to move to a bigger box this week. I picked a container that I love that ...

This is the first week of my 52 Nudges project. NUDGED: "Change my routine" BACKSTORY: I have my schedule planned out by the minute. I do the same thing at the same time each day, with little variation, for the past few years. While I love this predictability, I wanted to see what happened when my schedule was altered. Could I be flexible and go with the flow, or would it totally throw me off for the entire week? Would it help me to avoid going through the motions on autopilot? Would I find better ways of doing things? QUOTE: "Insight and discovery are most accessible to us when we break up our routine. Only when the brain is confronted with stimuli that it has not encountered before does it start to reorganize perception." - Gregory Berns, as quoted in "Thrive" by Arianna Huffington HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: I made some changes to my schedule, which may not seem like big adjustments, but were a bit uncomfortable for a planner like me! Deep breaths....

I started working on my new challenge before I even knew it was a challenge. My "tasks" sound totally random, but I discovered later that they were all connected. Isn't it amazing when the picture suddenly becomes clear? There were several random, seemingly unrelated moments recently. I walked the halls of my middle school and elementary school, both places I hadn't stepped foot in for over two decades at least. I tried one class of aerials and learned I could survive doing something scary, and that it was okay if I didn't love it. I ordered a mystery clothing box from an online retailer and enjoyed trying on different styles that I normally wouldn't select for myself. I was immersed in a completely different culture while on vacation and had the opportunity to try new foods, ask lots of questions (of course!), and experience new things. It all came together when a friend mentioned the " 52 Nudges " project. Kathleen Guthrie Woods began this pers...

Today is my 36 th birthday. I don’t feel a need to hide the real number and am not afraid of getting older. Through volunteering with hospice, I’ve learned what a gift and privilege it is to have birthdays. Not everyone gets more years.  I find myself looking back today. This is the fourth time I have had a “6” in my age. I have been reminiscing about my birthdays when I turned 6, 16 and 26. It’s fun to look back and see my growth. My life and situation really changed for each age, especially since it is a snapshot of when I was a child, a teenager, and newly married adult. Each age had aspects I enjoyed and things that I lacked. At age 6, I had fun and family. I had a happy childhood with lots of time to play and explore, along with a supportive family. I felt secure and loved. I had it all…except physical strength. Monkey bars. I quit gymnastics, something that I was really interested in, because I couldn’t even hang on the monkey bars. I didn’t have any upper body s...