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